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THE 



Shakespeare Cyclopedia 



AND 



NEW GLOSSARY 




3establi8be& 1870. 



The 

Shakespeare Cyclopaedia 



AND 



New Glossary 



GIVING 

Tte meaning of tlie Old and Unusual Words found in Shakespeare's Works 
and of the Ordinary Words used in Unusual Senses and in unusual forms 
of Construction— Explanations of Idiomatic Phrases and of Mytho- 
logical, Biographical and Antiquarian References— Notes on 
Polk-I^ore, lyocal Traditions, IVegends, Allusions, 
Proverbs, Old i^nglish Customs, l^tc, Etc., 

WITH THE 

Most Important Variorum Readings 

INTENDED AS A SUPPLEMENT TO ALL THE ORDINARY 
EDITIONS OF SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS 



JOHN PHIN 

Author of "Shakespearean Notes and New Readings;" "Practical Dictionary of Apiculture;" 
" How to Use the Microscope ;" " How to Become a Good Mechanic ;" etc., etc. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

EDWARD DOWDEN 

Litt.D., LL.D., Dublin; LL. D., Edin.; D.C.L., Oxon.; Pro^essi)r,'o^ Englisl^ Liteiajtara ' ; 

in the University of Dublin \ ] I , , !,,;',,'', 



NEW YORK 

THE INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY 

1 90 2 






TflTXraftARv OF 

CONGRESS. 
Two CowEe Recbveo 

AUG. 15 1902 

COfMMHT ENTRV 

CLAS9 ^XXa No. 
COPY 8. 



Those who would enjoy Shakespeare fully, must understand him 
thoroughly. 

To read Shakespeare's Works even superficially, is entertainment ; 
to linger over them lovingly and admiringly, is enjoyment ; to study 
them profoundly, is wisdom, moral and intellectual. 

— Mary Co wden- Clarke. 



Copyright, 1902, by John Phin. Entered at Stationers' Hall 
All rights reserved. 



e e c 
c e e e» 






TO 

HEKRY PflRKE, K. D., 

of Patersoq, N. J., U. S. R., 

WitlioiJt v^tiose ter\der care ai\d scientific s^iH tlriese pages 
v^ould i\ever l\ave seer\ ttie ligtit, 

T]:\is volilnqe is dedicated by 
His grateful frier\d, 

THE JIUTHOR 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Preface, ix 

Introduction by Professor Dowden: "The Language of 
Shakespeare considered as an Encyclopaedia of Con- 
temporary Knowledge, " ' . xv 

How to Read for Pleasure and Profit, 1 

Shakespeare Clubs and Societies, 8 

The Text of Shakespeare, 10 

The Sources and Causes of Errors in the Text, .... 14 

On the Choice of a Copy of Shakespeare's Works, . . . 18 

A Short List of Helpful Books, 31 

The Bacon- Shakespeare Controversy, 24 

The Cyclopaedia and Glossary, 33 

Addenda, 387 



Note.— Readers of this Cyclopaedia who fail to find in the body of the work, the word of 
which they desire an explanation, should consult the Addenda which contain a large number 
of cross-references as well as several words which were overlooked in the preparation of the 
earlier pages. Even while the Addenda were passing through the press some subiects have 
been suggested as requiring elucidation. The insertion of these mars somewhat the symmetry 
of the work, but it adds very considerably to its usefulness, and the author has always con- 
sidered that the latter is of far more importance than the former. 



PREFACE. 



HE purpose for which this volume was written is to furnish those 
MhY'^A ^®^^^^s and lovers of Shakespeare who have not easy access to an 
1^^^^ elaborately annotated copy of the poet's works, with such notes and 
explanations of obsolete words, obscure passages and unfamiliar 
allusions as will enable them to get close to the mind of the great dramatist and 
thus derive from his works an amount of pleasure and profit which otherwise 
would be unattainable. For while it is undoubtedly true that there is not a 
single play which, as a whole, cannot be easily understood by any one who has a 
fair common school education, and this without any aid from glossaries or 
commentaries, it is also true that there are in Shakespeare many obsolete words 
as well as many allusions and expressions which, although quite clear to those 
whose reading has been extensive, are not familiar to many who are really 
anxious to fully enjoy their Shakespeare. For example : When Hamlet likens 
his mother to "Niobe, all tears," the intelligent reader would like to know 
something about Niobe and the cause of her grief. So, too, when, in The Tempest, 
Sebastian says of Gonzalo that "his word is more than the miraculous harp," 
it would certainly add to the pleasure and profit of the earnest reader to have 
this allusion explained. Then, again, in regard to old customs : When, in Love's 
Labour's Lost, Biron says of Longaville that "he comes in like a perjure, wearing 
papers," the expression carries no force unless we have a knowledge of the old 
custom on which it was based. In addition to this there are many words which 
have lost their original significance and consequently have not to present-day 
readers that force and beauty which they formerly had. Such, for example, is 
the word silly. As usually defined it has no special significance in the speech 
of the British Captain in Gymheline, Act V, Sc. 3, line 86, but as it is explained 
for the first time in these pages it has a force and beauty which are truly 
Shakespearean— lighting up with a single word the whole story of a daring 
exploit. 

To thoroughly enjoy Shakespeare we must fully understand him, and, unfor- 
tunately, the " Glossaries " which are appended to most copies of Shakespeare's 
works are too meagre to give us the information that is required. It is to supply 
this want in compact form and at a moderate cost that this book has been 
written; and we have not hesitated to take the element of cost into consideration 
in this connection, although bibliophiles and collectors may generally regard a 
cheap book as a poor one. But to the class to whom this volume is addressed — 
the common people whose whole education has been ac(|uired in our common 

(ix) 



PREFACE. 



schools, this point is one of considerable importance. Fortunately, cheap and 
really good editions of Shakespeare's works are easily procured. A copy with 
sound text, legible type, good paper and neat and durable cloth binding may be 
obtained in this country for a dollar or even less, and in England the "Shilling 
Shakespeare " is a feature of every book-stall. If to one of these cheap copies 
any person who desires to read Shakespeare understandingly should add the 
present volume, I think he will have a fairly good outfit for the intelligent 
enjoyment of the poet's works. 

It is very obvious that in a work like the present there is not much opportunity 
for originality, but in a few cases I have offered new glosses which I think must 
commend themselves to those who are competent to form a sound opinion in 
the matter. Indeed, they have already received the commendation of some of 
our foremost Shakespearean scholars. On turning to the words childed, kindlesSy 
odd-even, prick, silly, silly cheat, the reader will find examples of what I mean ; and 
there are a few passages in which the sense is, I think, obscured by typographical 
errors in the generally accepted text for which I have suggested a correction. I 
take this opportunity to say, however, that I am in entire accord with those who 
deprecate any interference with the text of the old editions for the purpose of 
what some are pleased to call "improvement "; I think that even the Cambridge 
edition has gone too far in this direction. It is only in the case of the most obvious 
typographical errors that we are justified in making an alteration. This subject 
I have discussed at greater length on a subsequent page under the heading 
" Sources of Error in the Text." 

As regards the sources upon which I have depended for information, a few 
words may not be out of place, especially as I have not thought it necessary to 
give a formal list of the books which I have read or consulted. In executing a 
work of this kind the shelves of public libraries, however accessible thej^ may be, 
and however attentive and efficient the librarians may prove, must be regarded 
as accessory helps and not as a chief dependence. Occasionally they may enable 
us to make an indispensable reference to some rare book, but the great bulk of 
the work of study, comparison and extracting must be done where the writer has 
continuous control of a large number of volumes. Now, the extent of even a 
moderate collection of Shakespeareana is sufficient to appall most private 
collectors. The number of volumes would easily run into five figures — a library 
which is beyond the reach of most men, myself included. It is, therefore, 
obvious that most workers in this department have to content themselves with 
a careful selection of moderate extent. For many years I have been accumulating 
a small collection of such books as I found useful or interesting in my Shake- 
spearean reading, and when I came to put my work into final shape I endeavored 
to add to these such books and editions as were absolutely necessary. For the 
early Folios and Quartos I have had, of course, to depend upon public libraries 
or reprints — volumes costing from $500 to !|9,000 being entirely out of the 



PREFACE. xi 



question. Of the First Folio, however, there are several excellent reproductions; 
two of these I have, as well as the admirable reprint of Lionel Booth. It happens 
also that several of the modern editions of Shakespeare have added to their 
contents exact reprints of some of the Quartos, so that no earnest student need be 
greatly handicapped in this respect. Of the editions between Kowe and Malone, 
such as those of Theobald, Warburton, Johnson, Steevens and others, it is easy to 
procure copies, and I have endeavored to quote from the books themselves and 
not at second-hand. Outside of these the great source of information in regard to 
early glosses and comments has been the Third Variorum of 1821, in twenty-one 
volumes. Boswell, to whom Malone left all his notes and materials for a new 
edition, seems to have been most painstaking and judicious, and his work must 
always prove indispensable so far as old glosses and comments are concerned. 

For the various readings of different editions and suggested new readings, 
I have depended upon the "Cambridge Shakespeare," edited by William Aldis 
Wright (9 vols., 1891). This might well be known as the Fourth Variorum. The 
editions of Singer, Knight, Collier, Verplanck, Hazlitt, Hudson, Dyce, White, 
Staunton, C. and M. Clarke, Eolfe, The Eugby, The Clarendon Press, "The 
Leopold" (Delius and Furnivall), "The Henry Irving" (Marshall, Symonds, 
Verity and Adams), Dowden, Craig and others have all been laid under con- 
tribution, as well as the "English of Shakespeare," by Craik ; "The Shake- 
spearian Grammar," by Abbott; the "Shakespeare-Lexicon," by Schmidt, and 
the works of Douce, Nares, Caldecott, Dyer, Patterson, Ellacombe, Beisley, 
Grindon," etc., and I freely acknowledge the aid I have derived from them. 

Special acknowledgment is due to " The New Variorum " edition of Dr. Horace 
Howard Furness. This must form the foundation stone of all future collections 
of Shakespearean literature ; it is so thorough, accurate and comprehensive that 
after consulting it upon any disputed point the student feels that he has heard 
all that is to be said upon the subject. In the thirteen volumes already issued 
(twelve plays), one is pretty sure to find a discussion of the most important 
Shakespearean words, allusions and dark passages which occur in the other 
plays, and by the aid of a Concordance it is easy to see just where to look for 
what is wanted. Some may think that I have drawn too freely from this noble 
work, but at most I have merely dipped my little bucket into the tide of a full 
flowing river and given my readers a taste of its pure and refreshing waters. 

For information in regard to Mythology and Classical Biography I have gone 
to the great storehouse of such knowledge, the " Dictionary of Greek and Eoman 
Biography and Mythology," edited by William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D., and I 
cannot too fully acknowledge my indebtedness. To those who wish to extend 
their studies in this direction this work is invaluable. 

In regard to credits in the body of the "Cyclopaedia" my rule has been as 
follows : Wherever I have made an exact quotation and was sure of the author 
I have placed the extract within quotatioit marks ?ind have appended the author's 



xii PREFACE. 



name. In many cases, however, the exigencies of space have compelled me 
to abridge or condense, and where this has been done the author's name has been 
retained, but the quotation marks have been omitted. Where the definition 
or explanation has so far become common property that I have been unable 
to trace the originator, no credit has been given. In this connection I would 
remark that perhaps the reader may notice a number of glosses for which I 
have given no credit, but which in recent Shakespearean literature have been 
credited to Schmidt, which in general means his " Shakespeare-Lexicon." My 
reason for this omission is that they have long been the common property of 
Shakespearean commentators, and why Rolfe, Fleming and others should credit 
to Schmidt that which belongs to his predecessors is not easily understood, but 
that they have done so every careful student knows. A curious result of 
Schmidt's habit of omitting credit may be found in the writings of the late 
Eichard Grant White. White wrote a justly severe criticism of the "Shakespeare- 
Lexicon " for the AtlantiG Monthly and, provoked no doubt by the abusive 
insolence which Schmidt so often exhibits towards commentators of English 
blood, his remarks are sometimes rather bitter. But in the case of one of his 
most severe notes, his condemnation is directed against a gloss which originated, 
not with Schmidt, but with Dr. Johnson from whom Schmidt " conveyed" it ! 

In every case my sole object has been to discover and present the meaning 
which Shakespeare himself actually intended, and not that which he might have 
intended or, as some of the early commentators have actually put it, which he 
ought to have intended. Imaginative interpretations are so easily devised that, 
with many, the temptation to let fancy run riot becomes very great. 

The attentive reader cannot fail to notice the number of instances in which 
I have referred to Scottish literature and lexicons for explanations and illustra- 
tions of the language of Shakespeare. With a single exception, I know of no 
Shakespearean commentator who has given special attention to the light which 
the language of the lowland Scotch throws upon many of the dark passages in 
Shakespeare's writings. That exception is Dr. Charles Mackay, who has pub- 
lished a " Glossary of the Obscure Words and Phrases in Shakespeare." Dr. 
Mackay, however, being a highlander, depends more on Gaelic than upon low- 
land Scotch, and his etymologies often differ widely from those of Skeat, Mahn 
and other recognised authorities. I notice, however, that Dr. Furness and one 
or two others are turning their attention in this direction and with good results. 
But in order to make effective use of this source of information there is needed 
something more than an acquaintance with dictionaries. Having been familiar 
from childhood with the Scottish language as a living and spoken tongue, I feel 
confident that I have been able to give a correct interpretation of several words 
and phrases of which the explanations hitherto given have, to say the least^ not 
been quite satisfactory. I do not refer, of course, to the purely Scottish words 
which so frequently occur in Shakespeare, such as bonny, chapman, neif, pash, 



PREFACE. xiii 



reek, wee, yeild, etc., etc., but to the peculiar shades of meaning which many 
modern English words have in Shakespeare and which differ from the meanings 
ordinarily assigned to them, a striking instance of which is found in the word 
silly. A.nd here it may be well to note that by the Scottish language I do not 
mean that corrupted jargon which has become familiar to the American public 
under the name of "kail-yard literature." The Scottish language has its dialects 
just as we find a dialect for every county in England and for every State in our 
Union, and our " kail-yard" friends do not always choose the best. Shakespeare 
ridiculed this very form when he put it into the mouth of Captain Jamy, but the 
number of true Scottish words which he himself uses shows the intimate relations 
which existed between that language and his speech. This relation was freely 
acknowledged long after the days of Shakespeare. I have on my shelves "A 
Complete Commentary on Milton's Paradise Lost," published in 1744, by James 
Paterson, M. A., in which he claims to explain, amongst others, the words of 
"Old English or Scottish." Not only the meaning, but the pronunciation of 
many words was nearly alike in the two languages and frequently very different 
from the English of the present day, so that, as I have noted under the word 
shovel, if Shakespeare were to appear in London or New York in one of his own 
plays it is more than probable that only educated Scotchmen could understand 
him. In pursuing this line of study, however, I have endeavored to prevent my 
natural predilection for my mother tongue from leading me into the swamp of 
forced definitions and fanciful etymologies; in other words, I have tried to pre- 
vent a valuable line of investigation from degenerating into a "fad." 

Those who are familiar with Elizabethan literature know that, however the 
morals of Shakespeare's time may compare with those of the present day, it cannot 
be denied that the language then in common use, not only amongst men, but women 
and even "ladies of quality," was such as would not now be tolerated anywhere 
except perhaps in the very lowest society ; and while, in the matter of decency, 
Shakespeare stands head and shoulders above most of his contemporaries, there 
are, nevertheless, in his plays many words and phrases which cannot be read aloud, 
much less discussed where young people are present. In preparing this Cyclo- 
pedia I have kept constantly in mind the fact that it is intended for use in 
families, and I have therefore excluded every subject which cannot be freely 
discussed in the family circle. 

The line-numbers which I have used are those of the " Globe," chiefly 
because this is the standard adopted by the great majority of those who have 
occasion to give a reference to a passage in Shakespeare. Even where the reader 
is using an edition in which the lines are not numbered, these line-numbers are 
a great aid to the quick finding of any required passage ; and by taking a slip of 
cardboard and marking off spaces showing 10, 15, 20 and 25 lines as measured 
on the copy in use, it is very easy to get quite close to any passage without 
incurring the trouble of actually counting. But it is to be hoped that in future 



xiv PREFACE. 



all editions of Shakespeare will have the lines numbered according to some 
generally recognised standard. This is something that might be easily done 
even with an abridged edition ; and it is greatly to be desired that future editions 
of the "Globe" should have the line-numbers at intervals less infrequent than 
those in the present edition. Jumps of more than one hundred lines are alto- 
gether too great ; the index numbers should appear at every tenth line at least. 

It has not always been an easy matter to decide just what words should be 
admitted to this glossary and what ones omitted, and the room wJiich exists for 
tJie exercise of good judgment in this matter is well shown by a comparison of 
the different glossaries appended to the various editions of Shakespeare's works. 
A large percentage of words that are admitted to some glossaries are not found 
in others and vice versa. Dr. Johnson stated this difficulty very clearly in his 
famous preface. He says : " It is impossible for an expositor not to write too 
little for some, and too much for others. He can judge what is necessary oniy 
by his own experience; and how long soever he may deliberate, will at last 
explain many lines which the learned will think impossible to be mistaken, 
and omit many for which the ignorant will want his help. These are censures 
merely relative, and must be quietly endured." 

Where I have presented views of my own which differ from those usually 
held, I have endeavored not only to give sound reasons for my own peculiar 
opinions, but to present also, in an unprejudiced manner, the arguments of the 
other side. To do this has sometimes demanded more space than the subject 
under discussion would have seemed to require, but if by any means we can 
attain to the truth, all considerations of space and labor must give way. 

I am fully aware of the fact that I have frequently laid myself open to the 
charge of presumption by offering definitions and interpretations which 
differ from those of the great lights of Shakespearean exegesis, but I 
cannot help that. Perhaps the atmosphere of New Jersey leads to that 
kind of independence. Some years ago we had in our city a Justice of 
the Peace whose legal attainments were of a grade which frequently led to 
a reversal of his decisions, though, like the British at Waterloo, he never 
seemed to know when he was beaten. On one occasion, when a case of more 
than usual importance was being tried in his court, a prominent lawyer, who 
had been engaged by one of the litigants, very respectfully called his honor's 
attention to certain decisions of the Supreme Court which seemed to be adverse 
to the views which he had propounded. Nothing abashed, however, he simply 
retorted : " Mister Smith, I would have you to understand that that is where I 
differ from the Shuprame Coort. " 

And so in these cases, even at the risk of being considered a copesmate of 
our Paterson Justice, I can only say : That is where I differ from Furness, 
Rolfe, Schmidt and the acknowledged authorities. 

Paterson, N. J., April, 1902. JOHN PHIN. 



INTRODUCTION. 



TLhc %am\xaQC of Sbal^espeare donst^ereb as an 
Bnci^clop^Ma of Contemporari? IRnowleDge, 



BY 



EDWARD DOWDEN, 

LiTT.D., LL.D., Dublin; LL.D., Edin. ; D.C.L., Oxon. ; 
Professor of English Literature in the University of Dublin. 



INTRODUCTION 



BY 



EDWARD DOWDEN, 

LiTT.D., LL.D., Dublin; LL.D., Edin. ; D.C.L., Oxon. ; 
Professor of English Literature in the University of Dublin. 




jANY readers, I believe, will feel that they owe a debt to 
Mr. Phin for helping them to understand Shakespeare 
better. By his own studies and by a judicious use of the 
work of his predecessors he has brought together, within a moderate 
compass, a large body of information ; and he has so arranged the 
store of knowledge as to make it readily accessible to one who cares 
to learn. In work so comprehensive and so full of detail, errors are 
no doubt inevitable ; nor can everything be included which a student 
may desire to find. But if we are to be grateful only to those who 
are infallible, the range of our gratitude may have to suffer some 
contraction. The reader of Shakespeare cannot fail to obtain from 
this "Cyclopaedia" much that will instruct and interest him. To 
reach the spirit of Shakespeare should be our aim and end ; but in 
order to reach the spirit of Shakespeare we must conceive aright the 

xvii 



xviii INTRODUCTION. 



meaning of what lie wrote, and to do this is not always easy. There 
is nothing worse, the greatest of critics, Goethe, tells us, " than for * 
any one to make pretensions to the spirit of a thing, while the sense 
and letter of it are not open and clear to him," And this is true of 
a sentence or a phrase as well as of an author's entire work. It may 
require, for example, a little fortitude to dismiss from our minds the 
amiable misconception or misapplication, which has become general, 
of the line " One touch of nature makes the whole world kin " ; but 
we gain more in the end by understanding what Shakespeare's 
Ulysses really meant, and by recognising the place which that meaning 
occupies in the large worldly-wisdom of Ulysses, than by reading 
into his words some sentiment of our own, or some pleasant doctrine 
of fraternity which has its grounds in the common heart of humanity. 
Apart from the wisdom and the passion which are conveyed 
through the words of Shakespeare, the very language is a record of 
thoughts and things which has a high value and interest of its own. 
The vocabulary of Shakespeare is by far the largest collection of 
ideas and of facts, reduced to verbal representation, which any 
English writer has made and has put into circulation. The student 
of Shakespeare's language is more than a mere specialist, for he is 
called on to explore almost every province of life, almost every 
department of knowledge. Of course a large proportion of these 
words are still current coin, and pass every day from hand to hand. 
But many of the coins are out of date, bearing strange devices on 
the obverse and reverse, and it needs some inquiry to estimate their 
value. Here, in Shakespeare's vocabulary, are preserved for us, as in 
a museum, the relics of our forefathers' lives and minds; their 
manners and customs, their modes of salutation, their peculiarities of 
costume, their domestic economy, their field-sports, their indoor 
games, their music of the virginal and the lute, the furniture of their 
bouses, their arts and crafts, their military weapons, their superseded 
laws, the lore of their schools, their quaint notions of natural history, 
their faith in the virtues of herbs and of stones, their astronomical 
theories, their theories of man's physical and mental constitution, 



INTRODUCTION. 



XIX 



their belief in the supernatural, their demonology of witchcraft, their 
tidings from fairy-land, their omens of fear or hope drawn from the 
conjunction of planets or the lines of the palm. All these things, 
and much besides, are displayed in the rich museum of Shakespeare's 
language. And if we are interested in its contents, every old curiosity 
shop of^a minor dramatist or obscure pamphleteer becomes interesting 
to us, for amid its dusty lumber we may light upon something 
which fills a gap, or supphes a link, or interprets a puzzle in the 
treasures of our museum. 

Let us take, for example, some words which are still in common 
use, and which therefore cannot all be expected to appear in such a 
volume as the present, the words elements, hmnours. complexion, 
melancholy, choler, temper, spirits. How much of primitive physio- 
logical theory lies behind their famihar meanings! "Does not our 
life consist of the four elements ?" asks Sir Toby in Twelfth Night, 
In a companion pair of Sonnets (XLIV, and XLV.) Shakespeare finds 
in the theory to which Sir Toby refers the explanation of the sadness 
and the gladness which he experiences in absence from his friend; 
the heavier elements of earth and water in his composition cannot 
fly across the distance which separates him from the man he loves; 
the "quicker elements" of air and fire pass to and fro, and, returning 
with tidings of joy, "recure" the composition of his life. " I am fire 
and air," exclaims Cleopatra when about to fly to Antony through 
the portal of death, " my other elements I give to baser life." With 
one of these four elements, according to ancient and mediaeval 
physiology, each of the fluids or humours of the body— blood, choler, 
phlegm, melancholy— was specially connected, and as one of these 
humours predominated in the composition of a man his temperament 
or complexion was determined; it was cold or hot or moist or dry. 
By, a fashion of speech in Shakespeare's day the word "humour" was 
detached from its scientific meaning, and was loosely applied to any 
self-willed oddity or freak of fancy, and Nym in King Henry V. 
adorns his vocabulary with the much-abused expression. Against 
which popular misappHcation of the term Ben Jonson, the dramatist 



XX INTRODUCTION. 



of the humours, having explained the correct meaning, thinks it 
needful to protest : 

But that a rook by wearing a pyed feather 
The cable hatband, or the three-piled ruff, 
A yard of shoe-tye, or the Switzer's knot 
On his French garters, should affect a humour ! 
0, it is more than most ridiculous. 

When the elements, and the humours connected with each of these, 
were duly proportioned in a man, then he was of perfect " temper " 
(see the word in the " Cyclopsedia ") ; such was the character of 
Shakespeare's Brutus, as described in the eulogy of Mark Antony 

at the close of Julius Ccesar : 

His life was gentle, and the elements 

So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up. 

And say to all the world "This was a man!" 

But in addition to the humours, the "spirits" also play a large 
part in our life. " Forth at your eyes," cries the alarmed Queen 
to Hamlet, "your spirits wildly peep!" And Cressida's wanton 
"spirits" look out "at every joint and motive of her body." The 
word is intelligible to every reader, but again an antiquated 
theory of physiology lies behind the word. As we learn from that 
mediaeval historian of nature, Bartholomew Glanvil, whose work in 
its Elizabethan form, "Batman upon Bartholome," 1582, is a valuable 
storehouse of Shakespearian illustrations, " the spirit is a certain 
substance, subtle and airy, that stirreth and exciteth the vertues of 
the body in their doings and works." A smoke arising from the 
liver, where the blood seethes and boils, is purified and made subtle 
in the veins; this is the "natural spirit," which causes the motion of 
blood through the body. By "smiting together the parts of the 
heart" it is further "pured" and rarified, so becoming the "vital 
spirit," which " worketh in the artery veins the pulse of life." Passing 
upward to " the dens of the brain," and there being rendered yet 
finer and more subtle, it is converted into the "animal spirit," which 



INTRODUCTION. xxi 



in part spreads itself over "the limbs of feeling," in part remains in 
the brain in order that '* common sense, the common wit, and the 
virtue imaginative may be made perfect." And these three spirits, 
natural, vital, and animal, without which sensation and motion could 
not exist, are diverse forms of one and the same spirit, by whose 
instrumentality the soul operates upon the body and the body upon 
the soul. 

Thus, by tracing a few words back to their original uses, we are 
conducted into the strange realms of mediaeval science. And those 
who read Shakespeare with attention and put Mr. Phin's '' Cyclo- 
paedia " to good use will find as strange a cosmology and natural 
history. 

The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre 
Observe degree, priority, and place, 

says Ulysses in Troilus and Cressida. " This centre," for Shake- 
speare's astronomy (see sphere in the " Cyclopaedia ") is Ptolmaie, 
and the earth stands as the fixed centre of the universe. Around it 
revolve the spheres or orbs of the Seven Planets, of which the moon 
is one and " the glorious planet Sol " is another, each celestial body 
being whirled around the earth by the motion of its sphere. In the 
eighth sphere are planted the fixed stars, which themselves are fiery 
substances : 

Doubt thou the stars are fire ; 

Doubt that the sun doth move. 

Even Bacon maintained that " the celestial bodies, most of them, are 
true fires or flames, as the Stoics held." And it was a beautiful 
fancy, coming down from old philosophy, and one to which Shake- 
speare lent an ear, that the revolving spheres express the harmony 
of their movement in a spheral music, or, as Lorenzo puts it, that the 
planets and stars themselves are heavenly choiristers : 

There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st 
But in his motion like an angel sings, 
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubias, 



xxii INTRODUCTION. 



The voice of Antony, as it lives in Cleopatra's memory "was 
propertied as all the tuned spheres." 

Shakespeare's acquaintance with the quarters of our globe and 
its lands and seas was as exact and as inexact as that of his average 
contemporaries, and was at least sufficient for the purposes of poetry. 
He names America once, in connection with the Indies — "India" 
being, indeed, a name which was formerly given to America — as a 
land of wealth and of precious stones. He had certainly read for 
" The Tempest " some of the literature connected with the wreck of 
Sir George Somers upon the " still- vexed Bermoothes " in 1609 ; and 
there are indications that he had more than glanced into Hakluyt's 
Travels. But while he shows his intimacy with many parts of his 
native country, an acquaintance whether at first or second hand we 
cannot eay, with Scotland, and a curiously exact knowledge of 
portions of Italy, his geography is often poetical rather than scientific. 
His Africa is the Africa of maps which made its untravelled spaces 
interesting with pictures of marvellous creatures— the region of 
deserts and a torrid sun and the serpent ; his Bohemia, like Greene's, 
has its sea-coast ; his forest of Arden, its palm-trees and its lion ; his 
Lapland is the haunt of sorcerers and of witchcraft. 

Though Gesner and others had written much, Shakespeare's 
geological vocabulary is not in any special degree remarkable. But 
of gem a and precious stones he tells us something, for these are 
closely allied to the interests of humanity with which he deals. It 
is her mother's diamond that Imogen gives Posthumus at his 
departure from Britain, and Shakespeare may have thought of those 
virtues of which we read in the later Gemmarius Fidelius of Nichols: 
" It asswages the fury of a man's enemies * * * dowes away the 
terrors of the night, and frustrates all the maligne contageous power 
of poysons " ; Italy, for which Posthumus was bound, had an evil 
reputation in Shakespeare's day for its skill in the art of poisoning. 
The carbuncle, that stone which blazes in the chariot of the sun, and 
to which in Hamlet the eyes of Pyrrhus are compared, is, according 
to the same authority, a ruby of unusual size, and "for its innate 



INTRODUCTION. xxiii 



glory " it " containeth within itself tlie resemblance of a flame of 
fire." The chrysolite, as the reader will learn from the ^^ Cyclopaedia," 
was sometimes identified with the topaz ; the Gemmarius distinguishes 
the one from the other, but says that the names were often used 
interchangeably. The turquoise, gift of his dead Leah to Shylock 
"when a bachelor," had virtues ascribed to it which "nothing but 
excesse of faith can beheve " ; besides those virtues which the 
"Cyclopaedia" notes, it has this — that it takes away all enmity 
between man and wife ; but to possess its peculiar virtues, it must 
be, as with Shylock's stone, presented, not purchased : " these 
virtues," says Nichols, "are said not to be in this gemm except the 
gemm be received of gift." 

The liquid drops of tears which you have shed 
Shall come again, transformed to orient pearl, 

says Bichard III., addressing Queen Elizabeth. And the Gemmarius, 
which treats of the pearl as an object that comes within the range 
of the lapidary's art, reminds us that, according to Pliny, this 
"excellent geniture" of the oyster is "conceived of a certain maritime 
dew," to which piece of fictitious natural history the king's words 
may allude. The pearl, which Claudius feigns to throw, in the 
fashion of Cleopatra, into the drinking-cup, is named "an union"; 
"if they be great," says Nichols, "they are called Unions, because 
they are then found single in a shell. If they be small, they are 
called Margarites^ One precious stone, not dug from mines, is 
spoken of by the banished Duke in his sunny adversity of Arden 
forest — that worn in his head by the toad. This is the " Lapis 
bufonius," and sometimes, as we read in Johnston's History of 
the Wonderful Things in Nature, it bears in it the image of the 
toad ; but you may often find a toad without the stone, for " it never 
grows but in those that are very old." It draws poison out of the 
heart, which may also be among the " uses of adversity." 

The botany of Shakespeare is in itself a large subject on which 
volumes, such as Canon Ellacombe's Flant-Lore and Mr, Beisly's 



xxiv INTRODUCTION. 



Shakespeare' s Garden, have been written. Sometimes we come 
across an obsolete theory in vegetable physiology, as in that line of 
Troilus and Cressida which ascribes the knots in trees to the 
" conflux of meeting sap." Often we are reminded of the processes 
of gardening-craft, or the arrangement of "thick-pleached alleys," 
where hedges formed the borders, and of curious "knots " — knots, in 
this sense, meaning beds of quaint pattern, shaped with tiles, and 
often raised above the paths. We learn something of pruning and 
grafting; the production of variety of colours in flowers by that 
artificial impregnation, which Perdita regards as a wrong done to 
nature ; and the old custom of placing side by side certain plants 
which were supposed to suck different juices from the earth, each 
thus serving the other by leaving it the appropriate nourishment 
and removing what is adverse to its growth. 

The names of Shakespeare's flowers and herbs and trees are very 
numerous, and the identification of the plant is sometimes difficult. 
Thus "mary-bud" is correctly explained in the " Cyclopaedia " as the 
flower of the marigold ; but is the garden marigold {calendula officin- 
alis) meant, or Tennyson's " wild marsh marigold," quite a different 
plant, or, last, the corn marigold, a species of chrysanthemum? 
Canon Ellacombe, with little hesitation, gives his vote for the first 
of these. With the help of the Herbals of Dodoens, and Gerard, 
and Parkinson such questions can generally be answered. It is often 
the beauty of the flower which impresses Shakespeare's imagination, 
as in those immortal lines which describe the daffodil ; but often also 
there is a reference, expressed or implied, to the " virtues," to which 
the old herbalists devoted so much attention. Thus, as Mr. Phin 
notes, when Margaret in Much Ado recommends "carduus bene- 
dictus " to Beatrice, it is evident that she plays upon the name of 
Benedick, and has in her mind the singular virtue of the blessed 
thistle, recorded in The Gardener's Labyrinth of 1608, against 
"perilous diseases of the heart." Sometimes again it is what we 
may call a botanical myth that Shakespeare turns to poetical uses. 
Around no plant had gathered more terrible associations — terrible, 



INTRODUCTION. xxr 



yet also grotesque — than around the mandrake. It was vegetable, 
but at the same time it was half human ; when torn from the earth, 
as Suffolk and as Juliet remembered, it groaned and shrieked ; it had 
a kinship with the gallows and the corpse of the criminal; when 
wisely used it brought the blessing of sleep ; but for one who dealt 
rashly with its life, the mandrake became a fierce avenger, the envoy 
of madness or of death. 

The lore of beasts, birds, fishes, reptiles to be found in Shake- 
speare is extensive, and for the modern reader it frequently calls for 
some elucidation. His natural history of animals is partly founded 
on personal observation, but in large part it is an inheritance from 
classical and mediaeval writers. Troilus reproaches Hector with a 
"vice of mercy," 

"Which better fits a lion than a man. 

And from Pliny and his mediaeval disciple, Bartholomew, we learn 
what this vice of mercy is : " Their mercie is known by many and oft 
ensamples ; for they spare them that lie on the ground," pleading for 
pity by this act of prostration. "Tou are lions too," says Prince 
Henry, "you ran away upon instinct, you will not touch the true 
prince" — for the lion, being the King of beasts, will not attack a 
royal person. Richard addresses Edward, who has spoken of his 
valiant father : 

Kay, if thou be that princely eagle's bird, 

Show thy descent by gazing at the sun. 

*' Bird " here means the young one or nestling ; and we read in 
Bartholomew : " There is also one manner Eagle that is full sharp of 
sight, and she taketh her own birds in her claws, and maketh them 
look even on the sun * * * and if any eye of any of her birds 
watereth in looking on the sun, she slayeth him," "The elephant 
hath joints," says Ulysses, with a reference to the stubborn Achilles, 
"but none for courtesy." Shakespeare's natural history had advanced 
beyond that of many classical authorities, against whom Sir Thomas 
Browne, in Vulgar Errors (Bk. Ill, Chap. I) argues that " the 



xxvi INTRODUCTION. 



elephant hath joints " ; the Hortus Sanitatis, before Shakespeare's 
day, adhered to the old opinion, and though the jointless legs of the 
young elephant could bend, this power, we are told, was lost by the 
animal in its maturity. *' What sayst thou to a hare, or the melancholy 
of Moor-ditch ? " asks Prince Henry of Falstaff. And in Turbervile 
we read that the hare "is one of the most melancholicke beasts that 
is, and to heale her own infirmitie she goeth commonly to sit under , 
the wild succory." 

But in addition to the natural history which is in part truth, ii 
part fable, there is in Shakespeare and his contemporaries a natural] 
history which is wholly fabulous. The most illustrious of imaginary^ 
creatures w&s probably the phoenix (see "Cyclopaedia"). The sole 
Arabian bird alights for a moment on many a bough in the forest of 
Elizabethan poetry. At the close of Robert Chester's strange poem 
of 1601, "Love's Martyr," some of the most eminent of Shakespeare's 
fellows, and Shakespeare himself with them, unite in celebrating ideal 
love under the allegory of the phoenix and the turtle. In Sylvester's 
translation of Du Bartas (Fifth day of the First Week) her legend is 
told in detail, and we see the brilliant creature as she was seen by 
Shakespeare's fancy — her sparkling eyes, her crest of " starry sprigs," 
the golden down about her neck, her scarlet back and pur23le breast, 
her wings and train of "orient azure and incarnadine." She is 
consumed and reborn in the perfumed flame. But the salamander, 
which is a pestilent and venomous beast, lives in and feeds upon the 
fire; "his song," says Bartholomew, "is crying"; and, if he should 
please, "he quencheth the fire that he toucheth as ice does, and 
water frore." 

This fabulous natural history will be found more abundantly in 
the pages of Lyly than in those of Shakespeare ; but Shakespeare is 
pre-eminent among Elizabethan writers for his intimate knowledge 
of beast and bird as they are seen in the field-sports of England. 
His vocabulary here is extraordinarily rich and in its application it is 
almost infallibly exact. A delightful and learned guide to this 
province of Shakespearian study will be found in Mr. Justice 



INTRODUCTION. xxvii 



Madden's volume, "The Diary of Master William Silence." If the 
sporting terms which Mr. Phin has explained, each in its proper 
place, were brought together, the collection would form a little 
glossary of hawking, hunting, coursing, fowling, and other recreations 
of rural England. The falconer, who trains the long-winged hawks, 
may be disposed to throw a slight upon such a "gentle astringer" as 
appears in a stage-direction of AlTs Well, for the goshawk or 
"estridge," the bird of the astringer, is of inferior flight. It is the 
falcon that "towers" in her pride of place. And, as Mr. Justice 
Madden instructs us, you may take your hawk from the nest as an 
" eyas " (nestling) or you may capture a full-grown hawk, a "haggard," 
and by training reclaim or "man" the bird. "Eyasses," writes Tur- 
bervile " * * * do use to cry very much in their feedings " ; and 
Hamlet's little eyases, the boy actors, "cry out on the top of 
question." The unreclaimed haggard is, as we find in Othello, the 
very emblem of worthless inconstancy ; when captured she must be 
tamed by hunger and "watching." "I'll watch him tame," says 
Desdemona of her husband, promising to keep him sleepless until 
he yields to her request. The bird, when brought out upon the fist, 
must be "hooded" or she will "bate" (flutter the wings); " 'tis a 
hooded valour," says the Constable of France, when depreciating the 
Dauphin's courage, "and when it appears it will bate." I have 
followed and reduced to narrow space a few of Mr, Justice Madden's 
notes, and similar explanations will be found in the " Cyclopaedia. " 
And so we might go on almost without end, illustrating the remark- 
able familiarity of Shakespeare with the wholesome out-of-door mirth 
of England. Every point of a horse was known to him; and all 
the " terms of manage." Thus, Mr. Phin rightly explains the words 
of Benedick, "Sir, I shall meet your wit in the career," as referring 
to the tilt-yard, and the word " career " is itself a " term of manage," 
meaning not an advance which has no definite end, but a gallop 
which has an abrupt ending — the "stop " (as explained and illustrated 
by Madden) " by which the horse was suddenly and firmly thrown 
upon his haunches. Wherever Shakespeare uses the word the stop 



xxviii INTRODUCTION. 



is present to his mind. Leontes * * * spoke terms of manage 
when he marked 'stopping the career of laughter with a sigh' as a 
*note infalhble of breaking honesty.'" 

I have illustrated from a few departments the interest which lies 
in the study of Shakespeare's language ; and the illustration could be 
indefinitely extended. But Mr. Phin in the " Cyclopaedia " deals with 
much more than the vocabulary of Shakespeare. He is now historical, 
now topographical, and often, where questions of textual correctness 
arise, he is critical. Into the hazardous discussion of doubtful 
readings I shall not attempt to follow him. Here, more perhaps 
than elsewhere, there is room for differences of opinion. In some 
cases the difficulties are probably insoluble ; but from the days of 
EiOwe, and Pope, and Theobald a real progress has been made. The 
advance of knowledge in several instances where doubts existed or 
questions were raised, has justified the original readings. And on 
the whole it may safely be affirmed that a conservative text is the 
best text. But no one who has studied the Quartos or the First 
Folio can retain a superstitious reverence for them as exact records of 
what Shakespeare wrote ; and more violence is done to the original 
by forcing an unnatural meaning upon it than by accepting an emend- 
ation which accords at once with common sense and with the genius 
of our language as it was written in the age of Elizabeth. 



HOW TO READ FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT. 




EVEK, since tlie dawn of civilization, have the opportunities offered to 
the people at large for the acquisition of knowledge and for intellectual 
culture been as great and as accessible as they are at the present 
day. The enormous output of books from the presses of the pub- 
lishers gives the widest range for selection, and the grades of these works are so 
varied that the most highly-trained mind may find a field for intellectual exercise, 
while at the same time the simplest and least learned may find mental food 
suited to its capacity. Added to this we have the recent unprecedented multipli- 
cation of free libraries which place all this store of knowledge within the reach 
of the poorest ; and when we examine the reports of these libraries we find that 
the people are not slow to take advantage of the facilities offered for reading. 

But while this condition of things has gladdened the hearts of all true philan- 
thropists and w^orkers for progress, there has crept into the minds of our most 
earnest thinkers a well-founded suspicion that, like almost all other beneficent in- 
stitutions, the free public library is not altogether an unmixed good, and that unless 
its patrons receive proper guidance it may actually become a source of dissipation 
and enervation. These views are not by any means new, and some years ago 
they found utterance in a small volume by the present writer under the title, *' A 
Book About Books." From it we shall borrow a few passages in a modified form. 

Most of the everyday reading that is done by ordinarily intelligent people is 
for pleasure, and the subjects chosen are usually fiction, poetry, travels and the 
more vivid and exciting parts of history. Fiction, however, forms the great bulk 
of such reading, and this is shown not only by the reports of all our circulating 
and free public libraries, but by the condition of the books on their shelves. It 
will be found that while the novels and story-books are thumbed to pieces, the 
more substantial works, even though occasionally drawn out, are never read so 
thoroughly and frequently as to be subjected to much tear and wear. 

So strongly has this fact impressed itself upon those interested in promoting 
the efficiency of our public libraries as educational inflaences, that a prominent 
benefactor of these institutions has actually proposed to exclude from their 
shelves all works of fiction that are not from one to three years old 1 It is 
evident, however, that such a proposition, if carried out, could effect no good, 
and the absurdity of the suggestion is seen at once when we reflect that under 
Buch conditions novels like Scott's "Ivanhoe" or the "Antiquary," if just pub- 
lished, would be excluded, while novels of the " penny-dreadful " class might be 
admitted if they were three years old ! Obviously, a much better plan would be 
to limit the department of fiction to a certain percentage of the amount expended 
for new books and to exercise a reasonable degree of supervision over the 



THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPAEDIA 



character of the books selected, irrespective of the desires expressed by the 
readers of that class of literature. Such a system, if supplemented by simple 
instructions in regard to the best methods of reading, would do much to advance 
the educational efficiency of our public libraries. 

If read in a proper manner, works of fiction (in which class may be included 
not only novels, but poetry and the drama) may be a very efficient means of culture 
both as regards language and ideas, but as ordinarily read by those who haunt our , 
free libraries they do anything but good ; and it unfortunately happens that some : 
eminent librarians have urged the formation of what they are pleased to call "the ' 
reading habit," no matter what the character of that habit maybe. This is a 
great mistake. The "reading habit" acquired by a large class of the community 
is almost as evil in its influences as the opium habit, or the whisky habit. This 
may seem a strange assertion, but it is true, nevertheless, and the writer speaka 
on this point not only from general deductions, but from very favorable and 
extensive personal opportunities for observing the actual effects of inordinate 
novel reading upon ordinary readers — especially upon females and young people. 
My experience has been that those who rapidly read novel after novel never do 
more than skim over the plot so as to indulge in the mental excitement which 
all stories of a romantic turn and intense action are sure to produce, and it 
matters not whether the novels that are read are the masterpieces of Scott, 
Dickens, Thackeray, Cooper or others of our best writers or the latest productions 
of the dime novel press, the effect on the mind is the same and is only evil, and 
that continually. For there is another habit which is far more valuable than the 
reading habit and of which the reading habit, as too often acquired, is utterly 
destructive, and that is the thinking habit. The confirmed novel reader does not 
think ; she (for such readers are mostly females and young people) dreams and 
lives in a land of seemingly pleasant delights, but of good, healthy thinking she 
knows nothing. 

On the other hand, if we make a judicious selection of any of our standard 
authors and read according to a proper system, we shall gain not only in 
knowledge, but in that which is far better— culture and training. Under 
such a method we shall find that new beauties of diction and of thought 
will reveal themselves at every step of our progress, and we shall gradually 
acquire those habits of thought which sympathy with a writer of strength and 
refinement is sure to induce. Of course, the reading of the inferior productions of 
sensational writers never can effect this. We may so read Scott, Cooper and 
Dickens as to obtain from them all the evil effects of the dime novel, but we can 
never obtain from the dime novel the culture and improvement which the 
writings of Dickens, Scott and Cooper are capable of affording if properlj^ used. 

In view of these incontrovertible truths, this question forcibly presents itself : 
How shall we read so as to avoid the evils we have mentioned and attain the 
greatest benefit as well as the truest and highest pleasure from a perusal of recent 



I 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 



authors as well as from the greatest of all the literary productions in the English 
language, the works of Shakespeare? That this question is not always answered 
wisely is very clearly shown by the reply given net long ago by the editor 
of a prominent journal to a young enquirer who had not had large oppor- 
tunities for self-improvement, but who had been attracted to the writings of 
Shakespeare by the force and beauty of some of the best known passages and by 
seeing some of the plays acted on the stage. Therefore, that he should have 
asked, "What is the best way to read Shakespeare?" was the most natural thing 
in the world. The reply was that " the best way to read Shakespeare is to read 
him"! and it is probable that this is the answer which the beginner will get in 
nine cases out of ten when he applies to some one who has a pseudo-reputation as 
a "Shakespearean." 

In this bald shape such an answer is either a truism or a very gross mistake. 
It is certainly true that we cannot read the works of any author without reading 
them, but if we take up the works of Shakespeare and read straight through 
from the beginning to the end of the volume, we can never obtain that instruction 
and pleasure which we might derive from a wiser and more systematic course. 

Shakespeare's writings cannot be regarded as one homogeneous piece, every 
part of which is united to the rest by a single aim. His works consist of thirty- 
seven plays and several pieces of poetry, and of these there are but few which 
have an intimate connection with any of the others. It is his plays, however, 
which have made his name a household word. It would be difficult to find any 
person, able to read English, who has not heard of Hamlet, Csesar, Lear, Falstaff 
or Shylock ; but not one in a thousand has ever heard of "The Passionate 
Pilgrim," or "The Phoenix and the Turtle." 

All the most important plays have in themselves a completeness and distinctness 
which render it possible to study them without reference to anything else; and 
while a true lover of Shakespeare will not rest content until he has made the 
entire volume his own, those whose opportunities as regards time, etc., are 
limited, will do well to master thoroughly one-half or a third of the three 
dozen plays rather than form a mere general acquaintance with the whole. 

I have seen it stated somewhere that if you wish to test any person's familiarity 
with the writings of Shakespeare, ask him if he has read Oymheline, and I presume 
that the conclusion must be that those who have not read this play are to be set 
down as knowing little or nothing of the great dramatist. Now, although Cymheline 
is a play which no lover of Shakespeare can afford to neglect, it is quite possible that 
one might not only be an ardent admirer of Shakespeare's works, but have made 
very important advances in Shakespearean study, and yet might not have read 
that play. Given two young people of equal talents and equal, but comparatively 
limited, opportunities as regards leisure and means of study; if one should read 
all Shakespeare's works and the other should devote the same amount of time 
and study to tenor a dozen of the most important plays, the latter would un- 



THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



doubtedly become a more thorough Shakespearean than the other ; and what is 
more : The second would probably have attained a higher degree of mental 
culture, a greater amount of knowledge and, I will venture to say, more real 
pleasure than the other. 

In reading any one of Shakespeare's plays there are several distinct points which 
demand our attention. Thus we have : 1. The plot or story ; 2. The various 
individual characters and their development ; 3. The peculiarities of language and 
expression and the special meanings borne by words used in their old senses ; 
4. The various allusions to old time customs, mythology, history, etc. Other 
points, such as the style of the different plays, indicating the period at which 
they were written, will also present themselves, but it is hardly to be expected 
that beginners will have the critical insight which will enable them to derive 
much profit from this at the start, that is, if they are not under the personal 
guidance of some teacher of experience. 

The first thing which the reader should try to attain is a clear idea of the 
general run of the play and of the incidents which mark each stage of its progress. 
It is a notable feature of all Shakespeare's plays that they may be read with 
profit even if numerous passages should remain obscure ; and this is true not 
only in regard to isolated words and expressions, but as to passages of consider- 
able length. Dr. Johnson, in his famous "Preface," calls special attention to this 
point in the following words : 

" Notes are often necessary, but they are necessary evils. Let him, that is yet 
unacquainted with the powers of Shakespeare, and who desires to feel the highest 
pleasure that the drama can give, read every play, from the first scene to the last, 
with utter negligence of all his commentators. When his fancy is once on the 
wing, let it not stoop at correction or explanation. When his attention is strongly 
engaged, let it disdain, alike to turn aside to the name of Theobald and Pope. 
Let him read on through brightness and obscurity, through integrity and 
corruption ; let him preserve his comprehension of the dialogue and his interest 
in the fable; and when the pleasures of novelty have ceased, let him attempt 
exactness, and read the commentators." 

At this point the reader will no doubt ask: "Which of Shakespeare's plays 
ought we to select for the first half-dozen?" This is a puzzling question and one 
to which probably no two authorities would give the same answer. It would be 
impossible to name ten plays and not omit others equally deserving of attention; 
nevertheless, if we are to read at all, we must begin somewhere. Perhaps as good 
a play as any to commence with would be The Merchant of Venice. From this 
the beginner may pass to tragedy as shown in Hamlet, Othello, Lear or Macbeth, or 
to lively, mirth-provoking comedy as found in Much Ado About Nothing, the two 
parts of Henry the Fourth, etc. There is no doubt that great advantage may be 
derived from following the development of Shakespeare's artistic faculty as shown 
in the characteristics of the different plays, and for this no better guide can be 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 



found than Professor Dowden's little " Primer." But it seems to nie that in order 
to appreciate Dowden, or any other writer on Shakespeare, we must first read a 
little of Shakespeare himself. If we would study a plant we must first become 
familiar with the general appearance of the plant itself ; after that, let us follow 
the instructions of the botanists. 

No difficulty should be found in the effort to grasp the main incidents of the 
play, and almost all the finer passages may be easily understood, but the reader 
will find scattered through Shakespeare's writings a few words which are now 
entirely obsolete, and for an explanation of these, reference must, of course, be 
made to a special glossary or to one of the large dictionaries. But such words 
rarely cause any trouble, and need never mislead the reader. It is otherwise, 
however, with many words employed by Shakespeare and which are still in use, 
but which now bear a meaning very different from that which they had in the 
time of Queen Elizabeth. This is apt to give the reader a wrong impression in 
regard to the meaning of certain passages and to so far mislead him as to make 
him think that he understands every word, while the truth is that the sense, as 
it appears to him, is very different from that originally intended. 

One of the best helps to an understanding of Shakespeare is to witness the 
representation of his plays by really good actors. It was said of one famous 
actor that to witness his representation of Macbeth was to read Shakespeare by 
flashes of lightning; and those who have seen Booth in Hamlet smd Othello; Forrest 
in King Lear,- Charlotte Cushman as Lady Macbeth, or Irving in The Merchant of 
Venice, must fully realise the appropriateness of the expression. 

It has been well said that a thorough study of Shakespeare is sufiScient to 
impart a liberal education. This is no doubt true, but to attain such an end the 
study must be something more than the ordinary slip-shod reading with which 
so many are content. We use the word "slip-shod" advisedly, because if any 
one who has made a careful study of some such play as The Tempest, The Merchant 
of Venice, Hamlet, or Othello, should discuss its chief features |with the average 
reader who is fond of quoting the finer or, rather, the more expressive sentences 
of Shakespeare, he will soon find how vague and inaccurate are the ideas which 
many people have in regard to the details of most of the plays. Indeed, we find that 
many who claim to be careful students, and even some who aspire to be teachers 
and critics, have not read the works of the great master of dramatic literature 
with a closeness sufficient to give them a clear and accurate knowledge of many 
very important points. That this is not too strongly stated is easily shown by a 
reference to our current periodical literature. It is not long since one who has 
written much about Shakespearean matters, and has published several books 
professing to deal with Shakespearean interpretation, actually told us, through a 
prominent literary journal, that Hamlet murdered his mother and then com- 
mitted suicide! ! 

Another instance I may be seen in a modern and somewhat pretentious edition 



THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



of Shakespeare's works, in which we are told, in the introduction to one of the 
volumes, which, by the way, happens to have two editors, that Shakespeare 
represents Macbeth as curing a " crew of wretched souls " by touching for the 
king's evil. A reference to Mcb. IV, 3, 140, will show that Shakespeare does 
nothing of the kind. 

I have now before me a recent commentary on Shakespeare, written for the 
use of young students and readers, in which we are gravely told that Desdemona 
keeps the office opposite to Saint Peter, whereas, as any intelligent boy or girl 
may see, it is Emilia to whom that function is assigned. 

These mistakes are evidently not mere slips of the pen, but are due entirely to 
imperfect methods of reading. Neither do they involve any of those obscure or 
doubtful points which have puzzled learned and astute commentators ; they 
relate to plain and obvious details of the play which certainly ought to be clear 
to the average schoolboy. 

This careful and attentive mode of reading is particularly necessary in the case 
of certain points which are not obvious to those who merely skim over the text, 
but which develop themselves under careful study and persistent thought, and 
then are seen to be not really either doubtful or very subtle. Take, for example, 
the death scene in Othello, Act V, Sc. 2. Many who have seen this play on the 
stage, or who have read it in the usual manner, get the idea that Desdemona's 
life was ended by smothering; and in a recent issue of one of the literary journals 
an amateur critic throws a good deal of ridicule on Shakespeare, claiming that 
his method of treating the subject borders on the absurd and really involves 
impossibilities. "How," he exclaims, "could Desdemona be fatally smothered, 
then come to life again, carry on an intelligent conversation and immediately 
afterwards, apparently without further cause, die ?" 

And, as presented by many actors, these obj ections seem to hold good. But 
on careful examination the reader will see that smothering may not have been 
the ultimate and effective cause of her death ; and on turning to the words So, so, 
in this Cyclopaedia it will be found that Shakespeare has not described an un- 
natural, not to say au impossible scene. 

The same rules which apply to the study of Shakespeare's works apply to the 
reading of all literature. It is not from a first or even second perusal that the 
reader gains the full benefit which any really good work of fiction is capable of 
affording, and if the book is of such a character that it will not bear going over 
more than once, that very fact is strong evidence of its worthlessness. 

In pursuing such a method of reading it will be found that where really good 
books are selected, great advantage will be derived from the companionship of 
two or more persons in the work. Hence the advantage of those little clubs 
or societies whose members read and discuss a favorite author together. It may 
be well, therefore, to devote a page or two to a consideration of the formation 
and conduct of such associations 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 



SHAKESPEARE CLUBS AND SOCIETIES. 




"Get one or two likely friends to join you in your Shakspere work, if you can, 
and fight out all your and their difficulties in common ; worry every line ; eschew the 
vice of wholesale emendation. Get up a party of teu or twelve men and four or six 
women to read the plays in succession, at one another's houses, or elsewhere, once a 
fortnight, and discuss each for half an hour after reading. Do all you can to further 
the study of Shakspere, chronologically and as a whole." FurnivaWs Introduction 
to " The Leopold Shakspere. " 

PLEASURE that is shared with another is doubled, and in nothing is 
this more true than in intellectual enjoyments. Hence it follows 
that the satisfaction obtainable from the study of any favorite author 
may be greatly enhanced by the co-operation of a small number who 
unite as a little club or society for the purpose of reading and discussion. 

But it is not the pleasure only that is increased. When several minds are thus 
brought together to work on a common object, tbe stimulus of association enables 
them to attain results which none of them could reach singly. This is well seen 
in the effect of competition and encouragement on young people who, instead of 
studying alone, join a class and work in concert. The solitary reader or student 
may no doubt derive a great deal of the highest pleasure and instruction from 
quiet communion with one of the greatest minds of all the ages, but it never- 
theless remains true that just as it is easy to make a hot lire with half a dozen 
sticks, any one of which would soon become cold if separated from the rest, so 
the association of a few earnest minds not only adds to the enthusiasm of the 
piarsuit, but if each one brings his or her contribution of new ideas, however 
small that contribution may be in itself, the aggregate will prove a surprise to 
those who have had little or no experience in such matters. Of course, there 
may be many who will join such a club merely for the name of the thing or for 
the sociability which it offers ; they would like to have the reputation of being 
literary, and especially of being supposed to be admirers and students of Shake- 
speare without doing the hard work, which alone can entitle them to that 
distinction. Let them come. It will be impossible to bring a dozen people 
together and get them to read a play or even part of a play by Shakespeare without 
imparting new ideas to most of them, and thus improving the minds of all. 

On Fokming a Club.— It is not difficult to form a Shakespeare club ; the 
difficulty is to sustain it. There are very few places of from 3,000 to 5,000 in- 
habitants in which it would be difficult to find a dozen persons specially interested 
in those subjects which come within the legitimate scope of such an association. 
The problem is to bring them together so as to form an organization having a 
local habitation and a name. To effect this it is necessary that two or three 
individuals should take the initiative and, by appeals either to personal friends 
or to the public in general, gather in those who are interested. 



THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



The organization of a club should be as simple as possible ; the offices should 
not be unnecessarily numerous ; the rules should be few and the expenses should 
be cut down to the lowest point compatible with efficiency. A President, 
Secretary and Treasurer are, of course, indispensable ; and there must be Rules 
and By-laws regulating the conditions of membership, the dates for regular 
meetings and the order of business ; but beyond these, the less the action of the 
club is hampered the better. Where a regular Society (which may include several 
clubs) is established, a more elaborate organization may be necessary, but 
even in that case it will be found that simplicity is an important element of 
success. 

The Size of the Club. — Clubs for the reading and study of Shakespeare are 
most enjoyable and consequently most efficient when small — say, not over a 
dozen or twenty members, which would mean an average attendance of ten to 
fifteen persons. In such clubs every member knows all the others, and it is 
possible to have such pleasant social relations as are not easily maintained in 
very large associations. In cities of some size several such clubs may be organized 
and sustained ; I know of one place of not over 25,000 inhabitants in which there 
are three flourishing clubs. 

While there is certain work which can be done better in small clubs than in 
large societies, the latter are the most efficient where the reading and after- 
discussion of carefully prepared papers form the chief features of the exercises. 
The advantages which belong to both might be easily realized by occasionally 
holding union meetings when some special subject of general interest is to be 
brought forward. Or, perhaps it might be a yet better plan to have the clubs, 
while still retaining their individuality, unite so as to form a Shakespeare Society, 
which need not meet as often as the clubs, and at which meetings papers by 
members might be read, lectures and readings by noted Shakespeareans delivered 
and such other work accomplished as might be more suitable for a public meeting 
than for a small social gathering. 

Club Wokk. — There are many ways in which a club may occupy its evenings ; 
merely reading a play, each member taking a part, furnishes a delightful enter- 
tainment. Those who take part in such exercises should carefully study their 
"casts" so that the speeches may be rendered intelligently and with proper 
emphasis. This leads not only to a more perfect understanding of the plays, 
but it gives efficient training in that most delightful of all accomplishments — the 
art of reading aloud with ease and grace. It will frequently be found that the 
sense that may be derived from a passage of Shakespeare depends largely upon 
the manner in which it is read and the gestures employed. In some passages the 
entire meaning is changed by a difference in emphasis or gesture. See under 
the word take in this "Cyclopaedia." This forms a pleasant and instructive 
subject for discussion after the reading exercises have closed. 

The Selection of an Edition for Reading. — Where plays are thus read by 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 



members of a club, it is obviously essential that all the members should use the 
same edition, particularly in those cases where the text has been expurgated or 
abridged, and as a general rule the edition used under such circumstances should 
be expurgated— that is, all the indelicate words and passages should be omitted. 
To the earnest student, reading alone or with two or three companions of the 
same sex, an expurgated edition is an abomination, but for the family or a club 
where young persons of both sexes are present, it is a necessity. All the so-called 
school editions are, of course, expurgated. On a subsequent page the reader will 
find hints for the selection of a copy of Shakespeare's works for private reading 
and study, but for the use of clubs, somewhat different rules must guide us. 
The following points deserve attention : 

1. The type should be clear and of good size so that it may be easily read even 
when not held close to the eye. 

2. The volume should be light and easily held in one hand. Consequently, 
those editions in which each play is contained in a separate volume are to be 
preferred. 

3. The books should be cheap, so that the owner may feel no regret at being 
obliged to mark, in pencil or ink, what are known as "cuts." It would be a pity 
to subject a finely-illustrated and annotated copy to such an indignity. 

Among the cheap editions, of which separate plays are sold for a small sum, 
we may note the following : 

Eolfe's edition, now published by the American Book Company. This is 
elaborately annotated, and the type is large and clear. Single plays are sold at 
36 cents in paper, and 56 cents in cloth. 

The Hudson School Shakespeare, published by Ginn and Company, of Boston, 
is also an admirable edition. Single plays, 35 cents in paper, and 50 cents in 
cloth. 

Houghton, Mifflin and Company, of Boston, issue very neat editions of the 
principal plays, carefully edited, expurgated and annotated, at 15 cents in paper 
and 25 cents in linen. 

A very excellent edition, at the small price of 10 cents per play, in paper, is 
published by Cassell and Company in their "National Library Series," edited 
by Professor Henry Morley. It has no notes and is unexpurgated. 

The "Clarendon Press Series," published for the University of Oxford by 
Henry Frowde (with a New York branch), is elaborately annotated, but unex- 
purgated. There are seventeen plays mostly edited by W. Aldis Wright, and the 
prices range from 30 cents to 40 cents. 

The "Eugby" editions are also excellent. They are copiously annotated, but 
unexpurgated. They are published by the Bivingtons, of London. 

Samuel French, of New York, publishes nearly all the plays in 15 cent paper- 
covered editions. I have not had an opportunity to examine them, but I believe 
they are designed chiefly for amateur theatricals. 



10 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



Music. — It generally happens that such clubs include members who have 
musical talents and acquirements, and they will find the old-time music of Shake- 
speare a new source of delight for themselves and for their fellow members. 

Several books have been published on this subject, two of which may be 
mentioned : "Handbook of Shakespeare Music," by A. RofEe (London, 1878), and 
"Shakespeare and Music," by E. W. Naylor (London and New York, 1896). 

Society Woek. —While the reading of Shakespeare is peculiarly appropriate to 
clubs, the larger Societies will find their proper field in the reading and sub- 
sequent discussion of papers on special points, such as the study of the language, 
folk-lore, historical characters, mythology, and other subjects upon which the 
plays touch. All these afford material for interesting discussions ; they lead 
easily and pleasantly to a study of the poet's works, and a thorough study of 
Shakespeare is equivalent to a liberal education. 

Social Featubes. — Where the meetings are held in private houses it has been 
found that it adds much to the interest and sociability of the gathering to have 
some simple refreshments at the close of each session. Care must be taken, 
however, not allow this part of the exercises to dominate the intellectual features 
of the occasion ; and it is hardly necessary to say that any attempt at display or 
any indulgence in expensive entertainments, while to some it may increase the 
pleasures of a single evening, will inevitably work ultimate injury to the club. 
The meetings will be sure to degenerate into Society Eeceptions, which will take 
the place of Literary Gatherings. 

Those who are interested in the formation and conduct of Shakespeare Societies 
and Clubs will find many practical and sensible directions in Professor Eolfe's 
Introduction to Fleming's "How to Study Shakespeare." Published by Double- 
day and McClure Company, New York. 



THE TEXT OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS. 



U^i^/N reading books and articles on Shakespeare we often meet such expres- 
i^ll^ sions as "the accepted text," " the standard text" ; and sometimes we 
^yi^) even find the statement: "As Shakespeare wrote it." Then, on the 
other hand, we find innumerable "new readings," "emendations,'' 
"corrections," etc., which claim to be "restorations" of what is said to be "the 
true and correct text." All this is rather puzzling to the unlearned, and it seems 
to be confusing even to some whose scholarly attainments have acquired for 
them notable college degrees, evidence of this last being easily found in the 
correspondence columns of our literary journals. As a clear understanding of 
this matter will help the reader to form a proper estimate of the real value of 
many of the comments and suggestions which are found in the annotated 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 11 



editions, glossaries, etc., a few words on the subject will not be out of place. 
Those who desire to study the subject thoroughly will find the material facts very 
fully given in Lee's "Life of William Shakespeare," and in the Introduction to 
Craik's "English of Shakespeare," and the Preface to "The Cambridge Shake- 
speare." 

None of Shakespeare's dramas was ever published with his authority or under 
his supervision. The reason for this is not far to seek: Shakespeare wrote for 
the theatres, and to them he sold the entire right to his plays. The companies 
that owned these theatres held the opinion that it would be against their interests 
to have these manuscripts printed and published, and, consequently, the only 
editions that were placed on the market were those that were issued by piratical 
publishers. Of the plays which now form parts of Shakespeare's acknowledged 
works, seventeen were published in this way, these editions being known as 
"The Quartos." 

Shakespeare was connected with two theatres — the Blackfriars and the Globe — 
but his relations with the latter were more intimate than those with the former. 
On June 29th, 1613, the Globe Theatre was totally destroyed by fire, and all the 
dresses, prompt-books, etc., were consumed. It may have been that the original 
manuscripts of many of the plays were destroyed at that time. Shakespeare died 
three years later — on April 23, 1616— without having collected or edited his own 
works, and, with the exception of Venus and Adonis and Lucrece, there is not a 
single line of all his writings that was published with his authority or under his 
supervision. 

In 1623, seven years after his death, two of his fellow actors, Heminge and 
Condell, brought out an edition of the plays, now known as the First Folio. 
They claimed, and so stated on the title-page, that in the production of this 
volume they used "the true originall copies," but we have the most positive 
evidence that many of the plays were reprinted from the Quartos which they 
had so bitterly denounced as " diuerse stolne and surreptitious copies, maimed 
and deformed by the fraudes and stealthes of incurious impostors that exposed 
[published] them." Upon this point Lee says: "But it is doubtful if any play 
were printed exactly as it came from his pen. The First Folio text is often 
markedly inferior to that of the sixteen pre-existent Quartos, which, although 
surreptitiously and imperfectly printed, followed play-house copies of far earlier 
date." 

The First Folio contained thirty-six plays, Perides having been omitted. 
Pericles had, however, been printed in Quarto in 1609 and 1611. The Second 
Folio (1632) was almost a reprint of the First ; in the Third (1664) Perides and 
six spurious plays were added to the text of the First Folio. The Fourth (1685) is 
merely a reprint of the Third with the spelling somewhat modernised. 

A consideration of these facts leads to the unavoidable conclusion that we 
have no authoritative Shakespearean text ; that there is not a line in any edition 



12 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



of Shakespeare's plaj^s upon which we can lay our finger and say : "This is as 
Shakespeare wrote it." 

In the case of modern writers we have the knowledge that they corrected the 
proofs of their works; and it is known also that both Ben Jonson and Spenser 
saw their writings through the press and were careful to secure the utmost 
possible accuracy. It was not so with Shakespeare ; of none of his plays have 
we any copy that was ever authorised or revised by him. Of course, the prob- 
ability that very much that we now regard as his writings has come down to us 
just as he produced it, is so great that we are compelled to accept it as his, but 
there is always room for doubt. Writing on this point, Dr. Johnson says : "His 
works were transcribed for the players by those who may be supposed to have 
seldom understood them ; they were transmitted by copiers equally unskilful, 
who still multiplied errors ; they were, perhaps, sometimes mutilated by the 
actors, for the sake of shortening the speeches, and were at last printed without 
correction of the press." 

The text which is now generally accepted is that of the First Folio, with 
additions and corrections obtained by carefully collating this volume with the 
Quartos, of which editions the Cambridge editors say : " In other cases the Quarto 
is more correctly printed, or from a better MS. than the Folio text, and therefore 
of higher authority. For example, in Midsummer I^lghfs Dream, in Love's Labour's 
Lost, and in Richard the Second, the reading of the Quarto is almost always 
preferable to that of the Folio, and in Hamlet we have computed that the Folio, 
when it differs from the Quartos, differs for the worse in forty-seven places, 
while it differs for the better in twenty at most." 

In addition to changes in the text of the Folio made by collating it with the 
Quartos we have what are known as " conjectural" emendations in which letters, 
words and sentences are so altered as to make sense where previously this was 
impossible. All are now agreed that this should be strictly confined to the 
correction of errors introduced by printers and copyists; and certainly none but 
blind worshippers of the old text will deny that the printers who set the type 
for the Quartos and Folios were quite as apt to make mistakes as their more 
modern brethren. Consequently, where the change of one or two letters enables 
us to convert a passage which we cannot understand in its present condition, 
into one that is clear, sensible and forcible, we have a right to make or, at least, 
to suggest such an emendment. "We know positively that there are passages in 
which the change of one or more letters has converted nonsense into sense ; see 
oisson, rother, etc.; and we also know that there are lines in which certain words 
(ullorxals, as Dr. Ingleby calls the.m) are acknowledged by all to be hopelessly 
corrupt. Therefore, it is not presuming too far to suppose that there may be 
other passages from which a better sense than any that has yet been extracted 
may be obtained by a typographical correction, See dare, flax, larmen, etc. 

The typographical errors which mar even the most carefully printed books are 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 13 



a matter of common observation to all careful readers. In most cases these 
errors do little harm, since they are obvious and easily corrected, but in some 
instances they affect the sense very materially, and they show a wonderful vitality 
through successive editions. For example, even those editions of the Waverly 
novels which claim to be edited with great care exhibit gross errors, evidently 
due originally to the blunders of the printer. Thus in "Woodstock," in Vol. II, 
Chap. XV, p. 308, of the edition of 1829, we find the types making Scott speak of 
turning up a "swathe" (i.e., grass left in a long row after the scythe) with a . 
plough! ! The original word was no doubt " sward" or sod; swathe makes utter 
nonsense of the passage, while sward is forcible and to the point; and yet the 
editor of a fine edition recently published in Edinburgh continues this blunder 
and the publishers defend it! 

So, too, in "Waverly," Vol. I, p. 117 (same edition), Scott enumerates the 
delicacies which loaded the breakfast-table of the Baron of Bradwardine, and the 
printer has put "rein-deer hams " in the list. The rein-deer had been extinct in 
Scotland for over six hundred years, as Scott very well knew; beyond all 
question, what he wrote was red-deer, but the error keeps on its way in the best 
or, at least, the most expensive editions.* 

If such gross and important errors are to be found in a work published within 
a few years and the proofs of which were carefully revised by the author, what 
may we not expect in books published under the conditions which gave birth 
to the First Folio? Upon this point Prof. Craik, one of the ablest and most 
independent of Shakespearean critics, expresses himself as follows : " As a typo- 
graphical production it is better executed than the common run of the English 
popular printing of that date. It is rather superior, for instance, in point of 
appearance, and very decidedly in correctness, to the Second Folio, produced 
nine years later. Nevertheless, it is obviously, to the most cursory inspection, 
very far from what would now be called even a tolerably well-printed book. 
There is probably not a page in it which is not disfigured by many minute in- 
accuracies and irregularities, such as never appear in modern printing. The 
punctuation is, throughout, rude and negligent, even when it is not palpably 
blundering. The most elementary proprieties of the metrical arrangement are 
violated in innumerable passages. In some places the verse is printed as plain 
prose ; elsewhere, prose is ignorantly and ludicrously exhibited in the guise of 
verse. Indisputable and undisputed errors are of frequent occurrence, so gross 
that it is impossible they could have been passed over, at any rate in such 
numbers, if the proof-sheets had undergone any systematic revision by a qualified 
person, however rapid. They were probably read in the printing office, with 
more or less attention, when there was time, and often, when there was any 



* Scott's poems have fared even worse at the printer's hands, as may be seen in the edition 
issued under the care of Prof. Rolfe, who has corrected them with great knowledge and 
good judgment, 



14 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 

hurry or pressure, sent to press with little or no examination. Everything 
betokens that editor or editing of the volume, in any proper or distinctive sense, 
there could have been none. The only editor was manifestly the head workman 
in the printing-office. 

*'0n closer inspection we detect other indications. In one instance, at least, we 
have actually the names of the actors by whom the play was performed prefixed 
to their portions of the dialogue instead of those of the dramatis personce. Mr. 
Knight, in noticing this circumstance, observes that it shows very clearly the text 
of the Play in which it occurs (Much Ado About Nothing) to have been taken from 
the playhouse copy, or what is called the prompter's book. ['Library Shake- 
speare,' II, 366.] But the fact is that the scene in question is given in the same 
way in the previous Quarto edition of the Play, published in 1600 ; so that here 
the printers of the Folio had evidently no manuscript of any kind in their hands, 
any more than they had any one over them to prevent them from blindly following 
their printed copy into the most transparent absurdities. The Quarto, to the 
guidance of which they were left, had evidently been set up from the prompter's 
book, and the proof-sheets could not have been read either by the author or by 
any other competent person." " The English of Shakespeare " (1859), p. 14. J 

And again, on p. 27, he says : " No modern editor has reprinted the Plays of * 
Shakespeare exactly as they stand in any of the old Folios or Quartos. Neither 
the spelling, nor the punctuation, nor the words of any ancient copy have been 
retained unaltered, even with the correction of obvious errors of the Press. It 
has been universally admitted by the course that has been followed that a genuine 
text is not to be obtained without more or less of conjectural emendation: the a 
only difference has been as to the extent to which it should be carried." 

Since Prof. Craik wrote the above. Dr. Furness has brought out several plays 
in which the First Folio is followed with great accuracy, even to broken letters, 
crooked lines and bad work of that kind. But all such reprinting has been rendered 
unnecessary by the photographic reproductions of the volume. In these we have 
that liability to error which attends all hand printing, entirely eliminated, and 
such copies are so cheap that they are within the reach of every student. Another 
reproduction of this kind, one which promises to be the finest ever issued, is now 
in course of preparation by the Oxford Press, under the able supervision of the 
well-known Shakespearean, Sidney Lee. I look forward with eager interest to 
the reception of my copy of this magnificent, though low-priced, piece of work. 
It is greatly to be wished that the good work will not stop here, but that the 
publishers will go on and give us similar reproductions of the other Folios. 

The Sources and Causes of Errors in the Text, ^ 

The sources and causes of typographical mistakes in the writings of Shake- 
speare and other authors form a most interesting subject of study, not only on 
general grounds, but because in many cases they afford a clue to the correction 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 15 



of errors and to the true reading. It is more than likely that the chief sources of 
error in the production of the old copies of the plays, as indeed of all printed 
matter, were the following : 

1 . It is probable that most of the Quartos were set up from copy taken down 
by shorthand reporters from the recitations of actors either in the theatre or 
in coffee-houses. Under such circumstances the reporter would be very likely, in 
some cases, to put down words having a similar sound, but a meaning very 
different from the true one. That errors have thus crept in is almost certain. 

2. Mr. Theodore De Vinne, who is high authority on all that relates to typo- 
graphy, tells us that in the old continental printing offices the printers set up the 
matter from dictation and not from written copy placed before them, and Dr. 
Furness thinks that this accounts for many errors hitherto attributed to the 
reporters; but, while this may be true in a few cases, it is doubtful if it obtained 
to any great extent, for although the system of setting type from the voice of a 
reader is known to have obtained on the continent, we have no evidence that it 
was followed to any great extent in England and, indeed, it has been claimed 
that much of the type-setting done on books in London was done in the homes 
of the workmen themselves, just as weaving was carried on chiefly in the homes 
of the operatives and not in large factories as at present. The same was true of 
many trades, such as nail-making. In any case, the setting up of the matter 
from dictation would only be an additional source of error; the original influence, 
as affecting the copy used by the reader, must have remained in full force. 

3. One of the most fruitful sources of error in printed matter, including books, 
is the illegibility of the MS. or " copy." When the compositor * is unable to read 
the MS. without difficulty or doubt, conjectural emendation begins in its most 
dangerous form. 

4. Closely akin to original illegibility is the wearing of the copy, by which 
certain words and sentences become unreadable. That this has happened to 
several places in the original copy of the plays is altogether more than probable, 
being caused by ordinary use in the theatres. In such cases the blank might be 
filled up by some actor who remembered the lines — accurately, perhaps, in some 
cases, inaccurately in others. 

5. A very common error in printing offices is what is known as a "doublet." 
The compositor loses his place and sets up a few words, more or less, twice. If 
he should make any change in the wording of the second set, this error would be 
apt to pass unobserved in an office where a strict system of copy-holding and 
proof-reading was not maintained. We have reason to believe that the Eliza- 
bethan printers were quite loose in this respect. 

6. The converse of the preceding is still more apt to occur. When the same 
set of three or four words occur within a short distance of each other, after the 
compositor has set up the first set and a few of the words that follow, he is very 

=*= The workman who sets up the type is, in technical language, called a " compositor,'" 



16 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



apt, in again looking at his copy, to resume his work after the second set of 
words, and he may thus be led to omit words- and even lines. Such omissions 
are technically termed "outs," and are of constant occurrence in modern printing 
offices. The sj^stem now in use, however, is such that "outs" rarely escape the 
proof-reader, but under the old practice they frequently passed unnoticed. It 
is believed that there are several such "outs" in the Shakespearean text and that 
they have caused much perplexity to the commentators. 

7. Errors in which single letters play a part are sometimes caused by the 
compositor picking up the wrong letter, but more frequently by letters getting 
into the wrong box or compartment. As many of our readers know, type is 
arranged in trays or "cases " as they are called. These cases are divided into com- 
partments or "boxes," one for each letter, and the boxes are so arranged that 
those letters which are most frequently required are placed within easy reach. The 
printer soon learns the location of each box, and the placing of his hand on the 
required letter becomes a second nature with him, so that the chance of picking 
up the wrong one is very small indeed. But in " distributing " the type, that is, 
placing it back in the boxes after it has been used, mistakes are somewhat more 
likely to occur, and when a letter gets into the wrong box it, of course, causes an 
error when the compositor picks it up the next time. He may detect this error 
at once and correct it, but sometimes it passes unnoticed until it appears in the 
proof, and if the proof-reading be careless it gets into the printed book. 

8. Another way in which a letter may get into the wrong box and thus cause 
a mistake is this : When the boxes are very full the compositor frequently gives 
the case a light shake to cause the type to settle down, and in doing this it some- 
times happens that letters slide from one box into another. One more way is, 
that as the cases are placed on the stands in a slanting position so as to be more 
easily reached by the compositor, letters sometimes slide from one box to another 
and thus cause errors. 

In the year 1819 Mr. Z. Jackson published a stout volume in which he attempted 
to use these facts in the correction of the Shakespearean text. He was a practical 
printer who had spent eleven years in a French prison at the time of the revolu- 
tion, and during all that time he was constantly under the shadow of the guillo- 
tine. In all these dreary years his greatest solace was the study of Shakespeare, 
and when he returned to England he published a small pamphlet containing 
several proposed emendations. This was so well received that he published a 
large volume, but, unfortunately, Mr, Jackson did not confine himself to mere 
typographical corrections ; he gave a loose rein to his imagination, and most of 
the seven hundred notes in his "Genius of Shakespeare Justified " are the wildest 
kind of conjectures. Nevertheless, some of his suggestions, based on his typo- 
graphical experience, deserve serious attention, as any one who has had much to 
to do with printing offices must realize. 

9. New errors, which are apt to escape the author, except undesr the best 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. Vt 



regulations, are frequently introduced during the correction of old mistakes. 
Words and even sentences become disarranged, and in bringing them together 
again the printer fails to get the proper connection. 

10. A singular source of error consists in the insertion of that which was 
intended to be merely a direction to the printer. This has given rise to some 
very funny "cross-readings." Parallel instances are to be found in the First 
Folio where actor's names and perhaps stage directions have been introduced as 
part of the original matter. 

11. Curious errors may arise from the fact that the confidence and zeal of 
the printer sometimes outrun his knowledge. Thus Burton, in his "Book- 
Hunter," speaking of an author who prided himself upon his accuracy, 
says: "It happened to him to have to state how Theodore Beza, or some 
contemporary of his, went to sea in a Candian vessel. This statement, at 
the last moment, when the sheet was going through the press, caught the 
eye of an intelligent and judicious corrector, more conversant with shipping- 
lists than with the literature of the sixteenth century, who saw clearly what 
had been meant, and took upon himself, like a man who hated all pottering 
nonsense, to make the necessary correction without consulting the author. The 
consequence was that the people read, with some surprise, under the authority 
of the paragon of accuracy, that Theodore Beza had gone to sea in a Canadian 
vessel." 

An error which may have occurred in the same way, and which is equally 
ridiculous, is to be found in the essays of a noted Shakespearean critic. All who 
have given close attention to Shakespearean comments know that Steevens, 
although he was one of the keenest and ablest of Shakespearean editors, was 
unquestionably a most unscrupulous falsifier. No quotation given by him can 
be accepted without verification (see prince of cats in this glossarj^), and no state- 
ment made by him is entitled to belief without full corroborative evidence. He 
was a forger of the meanest kind and, as I have elsewhere stated, I am inclined 
to believe that the forgeries for which poor Collier suffered were really the 
handiwork of Steevens. Now, when he wished to publish some atrociously vile 
note, something which he did not dare to issue over his own name, he used the 
names of Eichard Amner or John Collins, two quiet, inoffensive and highly 
respectable clergj^men. As Amner's name was most frequently abused in this 
way, these notes came to be known among Shakespearean students as the 
"Amnerian" notes, but in the essays to which I have alluded they are referred 
to as Steevens's American notes ! 

In applying these facts to the correction of the accepted text of any author, 
Shakespeare included, it must be borne in mind that we have no right to intro- 
duce mere improvements however much they may, to our thinking, better the 
present reading. It is only when the sense is absolutely obscured that it is 
permissible to suggest a correction or emendation. 



18 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA. 



ON THE CHOICE OF A COPY OF SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS. 




HE very large number of editions of Shakespeare's works that have 

been issued within a few years is apt to confuse any one seeking for 

a good serviceable copy, so that a very common question addressed 

sometimes to booksellers and sometimes to those who are supposed to 

be familiar with the poet's writings is : Which is the best edition of Shakespeare's 

works? 

To give a direct answer to this question as it stands would be not only 
invidious, but diflScult, since that which would prove the best edition for 
one person might not be at all suitable for some one else. It is necessary, there- 
fore, first of all, to give some consideration to the different needs and purposes 
of the prospective purchasers. 

Those who desire a handsome copy of Shakespeare's writings, one which may 
take its place on the center table beside the family Bible, will find no difiSculty 
in gratifying their desires. Nearly every publishing house that deals in what are 
known as "subscription books" can supply a copy printed in fine large type, 
abundantly illustrated with attractive engravings and bound in handsome style, 
with plenty of gold distributed over the surface. Such editions, however, are 
not those generally sought by students and real lovers of Shakespeare. 

It is not likely that the man with abundant means who wishes to fit up in his 
library a nook specially devoted to Shakespeare, will come to us for advice, but 
if he should do so, the best hint we can give him is to study the subject carefully 
and to "go slow." He will, of course, desire to have a few of the rare and costly 
editions and several of those that are elaborately annotated. If his taste should 
run to graphic illustrations, he will find ample scope for the exercise of good 
judgment and the use of abundant means. A few thousand dollars may be easily 
expended upon choice copies, though a very much smaller amount, judiciously 
laid out, will suffice to provide a Shakespearean collection in which the owner 
may justly feel not only satisfaction, but pride. It is not often, however, that a 
beginner sets out with "malice aforethought" to form a library of this kind. 
The owners of such collections are generally led on gradually by reading and 
correspondence to the accumulation of their treasures. In other words, they 
develop from mere casual readers into collectors and students. 

One of the first subjects that must occupy the attention of those who wish to 
make a really valuable collection of this kind is the bibliography of this depart- 
ment of literature, and this is now so extensive that it would fill an entire volume 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 19 



much larger than the present. Those who have a taste for collecting and desire 
to turn it in the direction of Shakespeareana may obtain substantial aid from 
Bohn's edition of Lowndes' "Bibliographer's Manual," Part VIII, which is very 
complete up to the date of its publication (1864); the catalogue of the "Shake- 
speare Memorial Library," Birmingham ; and the catalogues of the Shakespearean 
collections in the British Museum and the Boston Public Library. The article 
on Shakespeare in the last edition of the Encylopsedia Britannica also contains 
much valuable bibliographical information, as do the several volumes of "The 
New Variorum," by Dr. Furness. Catalogues of second-hand books will also give 
valuable aid ; and it is only by careful study and close attention to the different 
books and editions that the collector can avoid filling his shelves with trash. 
The number of editions of Shakespeare which show notably distinctive features 
is usually said to be over two hundred, though I think this is an over-estimate. 
But of the mere reprints, which differ from each other in size, form, illustrations, 
quality, etc., there are many times that number. 

Of the editions which are provided with ample explanatory notes, that by Dr. 
Furness easily stands first. It must form the foundation of all future collections, 
and of all the public libraries now being established throughout the country, not 
one, of any pretensions at all, can afford to be without it. Of other editions we 
have space for merely the names of the editors, which w^e arrange alphabetically: 
Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke, Collier, Craig, Deighton, Delius, Dowden, 
Dyce, Halliwell, Hudson, Innes, Knight, Moberly, Kolfe, Singer, Staunton, 
Verplanck, White, Whitelaw, Wright. We should, however, make special mention 
of " The Henry Irving Shakespeare." This beautiful edition was undertaken by 
the lamented F. A. Marshall in co-operation with Sir Henry Irving, but Marshall's 
health failed at an early period of its progress, and the assistance of Messrs. 
Adams, Beeching, Evans, Symons and Verity w^ascalled in. They did good work 
on several of the plays. This edition may very well be called the player's edition, 
for while the full text is given in every case, those parts which may be most 
properly omitted in acting or reading are clearly marked. This and some other 
special features give it particular value as a work of reference for clubs and 
schools. 

All these editions, with the exception of those of E.olfe and Hudson, are 
unexpurgated. The editions of these two commentators omit all those passages 
which cannot be read in schools and families, as explained in our preface. 

Most of these editions, however, are somewhat expensive, and it is for a copy 
of more moderate price (under $2.00) that readers of this work will probably 
enquire. Such copies are generally in one or two volumes, without notes or 
engravings, but with a small glossary appended. Of these, the "Globe" is a 
good example, though the type is so small that Dr. Furnivall says : "Do not ruin 
your eyes reading the 'Globe.'" Moreover, "'tis true 'tis pity; and pity 'tis 
'tis true " that this famous edition does not seem to improve by time, the latest 



20 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 

issue being, to my eyes, not quite as legible as one I purchased several years ago. 
The "Oxford," edited by Craig, is also an admirable edition, but the type is not 
much better than that of the "Globe." The result of this is that many prefer 
some of the American reprints of the " Globe " since the type is a little larger. 

Clubs and reading circles who desire copies of single plays will find a note on 
that subject under the heading " Shakespeare Societies and Clubs." 

New editions of Shakespeare's works are issued from the press at short in- 
tervals, so that the choice of to-day may be superseded by the edition of to-morrow. 
Therefore, instead of describing individual issues I will suggest a few points 
which should guide the purchaser in making a selection. 

1. See that the reading matter is as near the generally accepted text as 
possible. At present this is acknowledged to be that of the "Cambridge," the 
"Globe," or the "Oxford." 

2. See that the type is clear and not too small. Small type, however, if well 
printed, is less trying to the eyes than type that is one or two sizes larger, but 
badly printed on poor paper. 

3. Avoid a paper with a highly-glazed surface. Dealers will sometimes tell 
you that such paper looks better and is more expensive, and they will talk about 
its being "aesthetic" and "high-toned," and such rubbish. The fact is, that a 
really good paper with a dull surface costs more than a common grade of paper, 
even though the latter be highly calendered. Paper with a shiny surface is very 
trying to the eyes and, except where the printing is of the very highest class, it 
does not take as clear an impression as that which is dull. If you value your eyes, 
avoid shiny paper. 

4. Eeject any copj'' in which the lines are not numbered. Forty years ago 
the numbering of the lines was a thing unknown, and the compilers of diction- 
aries and other works of reference thought that they did well enough when they 
referred their quotations to " Shakespeare." (See the Imperial Dictionary of an 
edition as late as 1883.) To search for a quotation with such a reference for a 
guide is worse than hunting for a needle in a "bottle of hay." To-day the best 
dictionaries, such as the "New English Dictionary " and the "Century," give not 
only the Play, but the Act, the Scene and the number of the line in the Scene. 
A reference to the Act and Scene is not close enough, for some of the Scenes 
contain a thousand lines, but with the line-number given the time required to 
find a word or a sentence is the work of but a few moments. The " Globe" has 
been accepted as the standard for line-numbers, and all references in general 
literature are made to it. It is obvious that where a passage is inverse, there 
can be no difficulty about the numbering of the lines, but where the speech 
is in prose the length of the lines and, consequently, their numbers will be 
governed by the tj^pe and the size of the page or column. Hence, we find that, 
the numbers of the "Cambridge" and the "Oxford" do not always agree with 
those of the "Globe." "The Henry Irving" seems to follow line for line. 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 21 

Where an edition is expurgated, as is the case with that of Dr. Eolfe, the dis- 
crepancy frequently becomes very great and, as a consequence, it is sometimes 
quite a task to look up a passage in that excellent edition. The same is true 
of the "New Variorum" of Dr. Furness. His line-numbers sometimes vary 
widely from those of the "Globe." 

These serious annoyances might be easily avoided by adopting a standard, 
such as the "Globe," and giving all lines positive and unvarying numbers, 
leaving a gap where passages are omitted and adding starred numbers (or their 
equivalents) where the text is redundant. Any bright school- boy or girl could 
devise a practicable way of doing this; but under any circumstances, a new edition 
without line-numbers will hereafter be almost unmarketable unless its literary 
merits are very extraordinary. 



A SHORT LIST OF HELPFUL BOOKS. 




3UT of the immense number of books which have been published in 
regard to the works of Shakespeare I have selected a short list of 
those which I think will prove most helpful to the ordinary reader 
and student. There is, of course, great room for difference of opinion 
in regard to the value of particular books of this class, and some one else would 
probably suggest a very different catalogue. I give my views for what they 
are worth. I have not mentioned the works of Gervinus, Brandes, Schlegel, 
Ulrici and others, which stand facing me as I write, because it is only the 
advanced student who can profit by them. A' few of those which I regard as 
most valuable for the beginner I have marked with an asterisk (*) and to some 
I have added the price. 

Biography and Personal Relations, 

Halliwell, James O. Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare. 2 Vols. 

In these volumes is accumulated all the information that we have about 
Shakespeare. Somewhat expensive and not always to be had. 

Lee, Sidney. A Life of William Shakespeare. 1898. Macmillan. 

This is now the standard life of the poet. It contains the most recent inform- 
ation and presents the matter in a clear and orderly form. 

Mabie, Hamilton W. William Shakespeare : Poet, Dramatist and Man. Mac- 
millan. 
A popular and pleasantly-written life which gives all the known facts and 
places before the reader the conditions under which Shakespeare must have been 
brought up and which undoubtedly exerted a powerful influence on his develop- 



22 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPAEDIA. 



ment. Beautifully Illustrated. An edition at a moderate price ($3.50) has been 

brought out recently. 

Wise, John R. Shakespeare : His Birthplace and Its Neighbourhood. London. 

$1.00. 

Grammars and Lexicons. 

* Abbott, E. A. A Shakespearian Grammar. An Attempt to Illustrate some of 

the Differences between Elizabethan and Modern English. Macmillan. $1 .50. 
This is one of the two or three books which every careful student must add 
to his copy of Shakespeare's works. 

* Ceaik, George L. The English of Shakespeare Illustrated in a Philological 

Commentary on His Julius Caesar. Second Edition. 
Full of valuable information. An excellent edition of this work has been 
published in this country under the editorship of Dr. Rolfe. 

Schmidt, Alexander Shakespeare-Lexicon. A Complete Dictionary of all the 
English Words, Phrases and Constructions in the Works of the Poet. 2 Vols. 
Eoyal8vo. $10.00 to $15.00. 

This work has received the highest possible praise from such Shakespeareans 
as Skeat, Dowden, Eolfe, Furness and others of that class, men "whose judge- 
ments in such matters cry in the top of mine" immeasurably. Richard Grant 
White is the only writer that I can call to mind who dissents from this almost 
universal chorus of praise, and he has spoiled his criticism by "running amuck;" 
and yet, with all this array of commendation, I cannot recommend this work to 
the ordinary reader or even student of Shakespeare. That Dr. Schmidt is a 
profound grammarian and a classical scholar of the highest attainments is true 
beyond any question, but when it comes to the explaining of the idiomatic 
expressions of the English language, his ignorance is equalled only by the 
insolence and arrogance which he exhibits towards commentators of English 
blood ; and yet, strange to say, he has exerted a surprising influence over recent 
interpreters of Shakespeare, many of whom not only adopt his errors, but 
credit to "Schmidt^' many of those sound definitions and explanations which 
really belong to Johnson, Nares, Steevens, Malone and others. 

Nares, Robert, F.R.S. A Glossary. New Edition by James 0. Halliwell and 
Thomas Wright. 2 Vols. 

Dtce, Alexander. A Glossary to the Works of William Shakespeare. 

This forms Vol. X of the latest edition of Dyce's Shakespeare. It has been 
sold separately, but is almost useless to those who do not own the entire set, as 
the references are to page and volume of Dyce's edition and not to the Act and 
Scene of the plays. Dyce never numbered his lines, and his latest publishers 
have not seen fit to remedy a defect which detracts greatly from the value of 
his edition. 

Bartlett, John. A New and Complete Concordance. 1900 pages. Macmillan. 
$7.50. 

This Concordance has taken the place of that of- Mrs. Mary Cowden Clarke 
because it gives not only the Act and Scene, but the number of the required line. 
See our note on this point under the heading "On the Choice of a Copy of 
Shakespeare's Works." It includes the poems as well as the plays. 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. ^ 23 



Other Aids to Study, 

* DowDEN, Edwaed, LL.D. Shakspere. In the " Literature Primers. " Published 
in this country by The American Book Company. 35 cents. 
If the reader of Shakespeare should be able to add but one book to his copy 
of the poet's works, this must be the volume. The beginner will get more solid 
information from this little book than from many a volume ten times its size. 
— . Introduction to Shakespeare. Charles Scribner's Sons. 

This is the Introduction to " The Henry Irving Shakespeare," printed 
separately and somewhat expanded. 

. Shakespeare : His Mind and Art. 

"Attempts to trace the growth of Shakespeare's genius and character through 
his works, studied chronologically." 

Fleming, William H. How to Study Shakespeare. 2 Vols. Doubleday and 

McClure Co. $1.50. 

The idea which led to the production of this work was an excellent one 
and it has been well carried out. It gives explanations of the difficult passages 
in several of the plays and a series of examination questions which call the 
attention of the student to those points which require careful consideration. It 
is a pity that such a valuable work should be marred by a defect which might 
have been easily avoided. If Mr. Fleming had placed the Act and Scene at the 
top of his pages and appended line-numbers to the words calling for definitions, 
much time would have been saved to his readers, and in these days even general 
readers, not to speak of students, cannot afford to waste time. 

Prefixed to the first volume is a very thorough, practical and sensible article 
by Prof. Rolfe on the organization and conduct of Shakespeare clubs. 

* Lamb, Charles and Maby. Tales from Shakespeare. 

There are several editions of this charming little book in market, some at a 
very low price. It gives the story of several of the plays, told as nearly as 
possible in Shakespeare's own words, but in the form of a story and not of a 
drama. Admirable for young beginners. 
Ellis, A. J. Early English Pronunciation, with Special Reference to Chaucer 

and Shakespeare. 
LouNSBUKT, Thomas R., LL.D. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. With an 
Account of His Reputation at Various Periods. 1902. Charles Scribner's Sons. 
FuENivALL, F. J. Introduction to "The Leopold Shakespeare." 

This has not been published separately, but as there is a cheap edition of 
"The Leopold" (Cassell and Co., $1.50) it is within the reach of most students. 
In addition to a critical discussion of each play it contains a chronology of 
Shakespeare's works. 

Hudson, Henry N. Life, Art and Characters of Shakespeare. 2 Vols. 

* Jameson, Anna. Characteristics of Women. Essays upon the Women of 

Shakespeare's plays. Houghton, Mifflin and Co. $1.25. 
Coleridge, S. T. Lectures on Shakespeare. Bohn. $1.00. 

Very much misquoted by the Baconians. 
Dyer, T. F. Thistleton. Folk Lore of Shakespeare. London : Griffith and 

Farran. New York : E. P. Dutton and Co. 



24 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



THE BACON-SHAKESPEARE CONTROVERSY. 



MT is now nearly half a century since the reading public was startled by 
the astonishing proposition that the author of the writings commonly 
known as the works of Shakespeare was, in reality, not Shakespeare, 
but Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam. Like many other astounding 
theories, it attracted considerable attention, so much so that by 1884, when Mr. 
Wyman published his bibliography of the subject, he had collected 255 titles, of 
which over forty were separate publications in book and pamphlet form, the rest 
being articles in reviews, magazines and newspapers. Since that time the 
number of books and pamphlets issued has been much more than doubled, and 
the number of notable articles in the journals has correspondingly increased. A 
journal advocating the new theory was started in Chicago and one also, I believe, 
in Boston, but I do not find either one in the latest list of periodicals, so that I 
presume they have been discontinued. There is, however, a journal published 
in London, called Baconiana, which has a very considerable circulation. 

It would be out of place to enter into an extended discussion of the subject in 
these pages, but as the question has attracted so much attention, and since even 
now the young people to whom this volume is specially addressed make frequent 
enquiries in regard to the matter, it will not do to ignore it entirely. Therefore, 
although I firmly believe that William Shakespeare, of Stratford-on-Avon, was the 
author of all the important writings generally attributed to him, I will endeavor 
to present the subject in a calm and dispassionate manner, for it is greatly to be 
regretted that in some recent discussions abuse has taken the place of argument, 
not to say of dignified protest. A notable instance of this was exhibited by a 
writer in The New York Times Saturday Beview about a year ago. It would seem 
that the best argument that this writer could find against the Baconian hypothesis 
was to call its advocates "mattoids."* I have been told that the author of the 
article is a professional alienist ; if this be so, the best advice that could be 
given to him is that contained in Luke iv, 23. 

While the authorship of various portions of the accepted works of Shakespeare 
has long been the subject of dispute, and while several whole plays have been 
attributed to him, in the production of which it is very certain that he had no 
hand, it was not until the year 1848 that it was boldly claimed that he was not the 
author of any of the works ordinarily credited to him, and the question was 

* This term originated with Lombroso and signifies a monomaniac characterised by- 
stupidity. This definition certainly does not apply to many staunch and earnest Baconians. 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 25 



raised : Who were the able literary men who wrote the dramas of which he is the 
reputed author ? 

This question was put forward in that year by Col. Joseph Hart, but Miss Delia 
Bacon was the first to advance the hypothesis that a coterie of wits, including 
Bacon, Ealeigh, Spenser and others were the real authors, and that the plays 
infolded a system of Philosophy and Political Economy which they did not dare 
to publish over their own names, and so were glad to get the otherwise incon- 
spicuous actor, William Shakespeare, to father them. Miss Bacon's theory was 
never fully published by herself . The first suggestion was made in an article 
published in Putnam's Magazine for January, 1856, but this article was to have 
been the first of iour, and the others were never put in type, the manuscripts 
having been lost by an unfortunate accident. This first article was exceedingly 
brilliant in its language and imagery, but utterly pointless, except in the 
matter of abuse of poor Shakespeare, against whom she uses language which no 
sane woman would have employed. Prior to the publication of the article she 
had gone to England with the intention of having Shakespeare's tomb opened, 
as she felt sure that there she would find absolute proof to substantiate her 
theor3^ It is needless to say that although she made very earnest efforts to 
accomplish her purpose, she was not allowed to disturb that grave which has 
been a Mecca to so many pilgrims. While in England, however, she completed 
one-half of her book and had it published under the title "The Philosophy of the 
Plays of Shakespeare Unfolded." In bringing out her book she was aided by 
Emerson, Hawthorne and Carlyle, every one of whom showed her the utmost 
kindness and consideration, although none of them had any faith in her pro- 
position. 

The book was a complete failure, and no wonder. Although, like her first 
article, it contained brilliant sentences and some fine ideas, beautifully expressed, 
yet, as a whole, it had no distinct objective point. It did not even embody the main 
points of her theory ; this she reserved for her second volume, which never came 
out. In a later work * of his, Hawthorne, who wrote a preface to Miss Bacon's 
volume, says : " I believe that it has been the fate of this remarkable book never 
to have had more than a single reader. I, myself, am acquainted with it only in 
insulated chapters and scattered pages and paragraphs." 

I have gone over the book with some care and find it brilliant, but incoherent. 
The author seems to have been oppressed with the idea that she was in posses- 
sion of a secret too sacred and too important to be lightly divulged to the people 
at large ; there is a continual promise of a revelation which, however, is never 
revealed. In fact, her brilliancy is due in a large measure to the looseness of her 
methods of thinking and her wonderful powers of expression, which are entirely 
untrammeled by sound logic and a broad generalization of facts. 

=*= " Our 014 Home," chapter ou Recollections of a Gifted Woman, 



26 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPAEDIA 

The etliereal, though somewhat nebulous, hypotheses propounded by Miss 
Bacon soon assumed the more concrete, though cruder, form in which they are 
now generally presented, the authorship of the plays being attributed wholly to 
Lord Bacon, and the esoteric language and delicate mysteries becoming, in the 
hands of the Donnelly's, the Owens and the Gallups, a mere cryptographic puzzle 
embodied in the material form of types, ink and paper, in which it is asserted 
that Bacon's claims are set forth. The language in which these claims are 
embodied certainly never had its origin during the reign of Elizabeth. 

Those who will take the trouble to look over the books of these writers with 
any degree of attention will find that the authors are quite unfamiliar with 
Elizabethan language and literature ; Mr. Donnelly certainly did not understand 
some of the plainest passages in Shakespeare's works. Through a supposed 
interpretation of their alleged cipher, Dr. Owen and Mrs. Gallup claim that Bacon 
asserts that he and Essex were the children of Queen Elizabeth, she having been 
married to Leicester while they were both imprisoned in the Tower. Mrs. Gallup 
also asserts that Bacon claims the authorship of ' ' The Anatomy of Melancholy " 
and of most of the writings of Marlow, Greene, Peele and others. But Mrs. Gallup 
made a fatal mistake when she claimed that Bacon had translated Homer and 
embodied the Iliad in cipher in " The Anatomy of Melancholy." "What possible 
object Bacon could have had in concealing a translation of Homer, it must, of 
course, puzzle the ordinary mind to imagine, and yet, notwithstanding this very 
obvious objection, Mrs. Gallup found strenuous support in quarters from which 
a convertite was hardly to have been expected. But Mr. Marston in The Nine- 
teenth Century gives this claim the coup de grace by showing that the Baconian 
translation, as deciphered by Mrs. Gallup, is simply a transformation of Pope's 
famous metrical translation. In other words, it is Pope's poetry turned into very 
mediocre prose. 

But I think it is generally true that the most earnest and intelligent Baconians 
have very little confidence in these ciphers. Indeed, some of them allege that. 
Mr. Donnelly's "Great Cryptogram " did much more harm than good to the cause, 
and they rely upon arguments of an entirely different class. We have not space 
here to present these arguments at length ; those who desire to inform themselves 
upon the subject will find the Baconian side of the question very fully and ably 
set forth in " The Authorship of Shakespeare," by Nathaniel Holmes, and "Bacon 
vs. Shakspere," by Edwin Keed. On the other side we have "Notes on the 
Bacon-Shakespeare Question," by Charles Allen, and a very pleasant little 
book, "What We Eeally Know About Shakespeare," by Mrs. Caroline Healey 
Dall. 

After a pretty careful study of the subject, I find that the chief arguments of 
the Baconians are based upon (1) the alleged illiteracy of Shakespeare, showing 
that he was utterly incompetent to produce the works which go under his name; 
(2) Shakespeare's alleged dissolute and so-called profane life ; and (3) the fact 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 27 



that there are so many parallelisms and correspondences between the plays and 
the known writings of Bacon that the cumulative evidence that they were both 
written by the same hand amounts almost to positive proof. 

Any one who has carefully studied the subject with an unprejudiced mind must 
conclude that the charge of illiteracy is an entire assumption and one that is 
opposed to the little that we do know of Shakespeare's attainments. In other 
words, this argument of the Baconians is a complete begging of the question. 
They first ask us, on a mere assumption, to admit that Shakespeare was illiterate, 
and then they argue from this that he could not have written the plays ! But we 
have the most positive evidence that he was not illiterate. That he had some Latin 
and some Greek we have. the testimony of Ben Jonson ; if he had any Greek at 
all, he must have been able to read Latin freely, for in his time all Greek text- 
books were in Latin, and, in addition to this, Aubrey tells us that Shakespeare 
understood Latin fairly well. To a man of Shakespeare's abilities it would have 
been a trifling undertaking to have acquired a knowledge of such other languages 
as he required, and we have not a particle of evidence to show that he did not 
do so. Indeed, we have some very positive evidence that his knowledge of French 
was acquired by book study and not from skilled teachers. His pronunciation 
of the language shows this. See the words bras and pense in this Glossary. 
Bacon, who spoke French fluently, never would have written the passages in 
which these words occur. 

In this connection much stress is laid upon the fact that he spells his name 
two or three different ways. To put forward such an argument as that argues 
profound ignorance of Elizabethan writing and printing on the part of those who 
advance it. Their idol, Bacon, once spelled his name Bakon in a letter of 
attorney ; Sir Walter Ealeigh spelled his name five different ways, and I have 
now before me an old law book consisting of a series of reports, issued con- 
secutively, in which the printer, who ought to have been able to spell if any one 
could, spells his own name differently in each separate issue ! 

In the face of these facts, the attempt to differentiate between Bacon and 
Shakespeare by assuming that "Shakespeare" was the 7iom de plume of Bacon, 
while "Shakspere" was the real name of the man of Stratford-on-Avon — the 
actor — is, to say the least, certainly illogical. In the language of Dr. Furnivall, 
"the tomfoolery of it is infinite," 

As for the parallelisms and correspondences which are found in Bacon's works 
and in the plays, no person of any breadth of reading would give the slightest 
weight to them. The majority of the correspondences brought forward by Mrs. 
Potts are merely well-known phrases, expressions and quotations, many of them 
from the Bible ; and the richest part of the joke is that a very large proportion of 
the so-called parallelisms are not parallelisms at all ; a few M^ords may be the 
same in each, but the ideas are radically different. In the few cases in which 
there is an identity of idea, Dr. Abbott, who wrote a preface to Mrs. Potts' edition 



28 THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 

of the "Promus," comes to the conclusion that Bacon borrowed from Shakespeare, 
and not Shakespeare froin Bacon. This part of Dr. Abbott's testimony in the 
case is omitted by Mr. Eeed in his quotation on page 54 of his "Bacon vs. 
Shakspere"(1897). 

But against the very illogical assumptions of the Baconians we have the direct 
testimony, as to authorship, of numerous contemporaries of Shakespeare — 
Jonson, Meres, Digges, Hey wood, etc., and in the years immediately succeeding 
his death the number of laudatory notices which appeared, and all of which 
attributed the plays to Shakespeare, of Stratford-on-Avon, is very large. As 
Jonson was the friend both of Bacon and of Shakespeare, he must have known 
the truth of the matter. The Baconians say, however, that he was in the plot 
to deceive the public and that the others were simply "fooled." To ask us to 
believe that all the prominent literary men of the early years of the seventeenth 
century were either knaves or fools is to ask for a degree of credulity compared 
with which a belief that Francis, the underskinker of the Boar's-Head Tavern, 
Eastcheap, wrote the plays, would be a rational form of faith. 

It is an interesting fact that of all the prominent literary men who were 
connected with Miss Bacon and Mrs. Potts, not one accepted the Baconian 
hypothesis. Carlyle, Emerson, Hawthorne, Abbott and Oliver Wendell Holmes all 
rejected it as being utterly untenable, though they all urged that the Baconian view 
be given a fair hearing. Spedding, the biographer of Bacon and one of his most 
earnest defenders, says : "I doubt whether there are five lines together in Bacon 
which could be mistaken for Shakespeare or five lines in Shakespeare which 
could be mistaken for Bacon by one who was familiar with the several styles 
and practised in such observation. * * * jf there were any reason for 
supposing that the real author was somebody else, I think I am in a condition 
to say that, whoever it was, it was not Francis Bacon." 

And Holmes,* while he went so far as to say, in a letter to Mrs. Potts, that 
if the Shakespeareans would not listen to reasonable arguments he would 
have a starling taught to say nothing but "Verulam" and hang it up where 
they would be compelled to listen to it, did not accept the Baconian doctrine. 
In the last book that he wrote, " Our Hundred Days in Europe " (1887), he 
characterises Miss Bacon's ideas as "insane," and in that book, written three 
or four years after he had written his pleasant and much misquoted letter to Mrs. 
Potts, he writes of his visit to Stratford-on-Avon: "It is quite impossible to 
think of any human being growing up in this place which claims Shakespeare 
as its child, about the streets of which he ran as a boy, on the waters of which 
he must have floated, without having his image ever present." That does not 
sound as if Holmes had been a Baconian. 

* Some confusion has been caused by the fact that both Oliver Wendell Holmes, the 
Shakespearean, and Nathaniel Holmes, the Baconian, were Professors in Harvard University, 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 29' 



HINTS TO READERS AND EXPLANATIONS OF THE CON- 
TRACTIONS USED IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES. 




O doubt to some persons many of the following " hints and 
explanations" will appear trivial and unnecessary. It must 
be borne in mind, however, that the book is not addressed 
to experienced students and readers, but to those who have merely 
a common school education and whose facilities for reference and 
enquiry are quite limited. 

CONTRACTIONS USED FOR THE TITLES OF THE PLAYS AND POEMS. 

In adopting these contractions I have endeavored to select those 
which are as suggestive as possible, so that any person who has ever 
looked over the works of Shakespeare carefully, need not be at any 
loss in regard to the meaning of the letters used to designate each 
play. For example: The usual contraction for AWs Well that Siids 
Well is A. TF, This is not quite as suggestive as AlVs, Particular 
care has been taken to avoid all risk of leading the reader into error; 
it would be impossible to apply Wiv., Tio,, Unil. or Gms^ to any 
play except the one intended. This cannot be said of the contractions 
used in many works of reference — the new Glossary of the famous 
"Globe" edition, for example: T, K. suggests Timon of Athens 
quite as much as it does Titus Andronicus^ The reader must think 
a little before he can decide, and this thinking might be applied 
to a better purpose. The contractions are nearly the same as those 
used by Dr. Schmidt, in his " Shakespeare Lexicon," and they 
economize space more thoroughly than any set that I have seen. 

It is a great pity that in these days of universal scientific standards 
and interchangeable mechanical parts some uniform system cannot 
be adopted. If you own a Waltham or an Elgin watch, or a Smith & 



30 



THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA 



Wesson revolver, and any part should break, you can send from " the 
furthest steppes of India " to the factory and have a duplicate of 
the broken part mailed to you, and it will be sure to fit. 

Let us have, then, a set of standard contractions authorized by 
competent authority, and let it be universally adopted. 



Ado — Much Ado about Nothing. 

All's— All's Well that Ends Well. 

Ant. — Antony and Cleopatra. 

Arg . — Argu m en t . 

As — As You Like It. 

Caes. — Julius Csesar. 

Chor. — Chorus. 

Compl, — A Lover's Complaint. 

Cor. — Coriolanus . 

Cym. — Cymbeline. 

Epi. — Epilogue. 

Err. — Comedy of Errors. 

Gent. — The Two Gentlemen of Verona. 

IHIV.— Henry IV, First Part. 

2HIV.— Henry IV, Second Part. 

HV.— Henry V. 

IHVI.— Henry VI, First Part. 

2HVI.— Henry VI, Second Part. 

3HVI.— Henry VI, Third Part. 

HVIII.— Henry VIII. 

Hml. — Hamlet. 

Ind. — Induction . 

John — King John. 

Kins. — Two Noble Kinsmen. 

LLL. — Love's Labour's Lost. 



Lr.-King Lear. 

Lucr. — The Rape of Lucrece. 

Mcb.— Macbeth. 

Meas. — Measure for Measure. 

Merch. — The Merchant of Venice. 

Mids. — A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

0th.— Othello. 

Per. — Pericles. 

Phoen. — The Phoenix and the Turtle. 

Pilgr. — The Passionate Pilgrim. 

Prol. — Prologue. 

EIL— Eichard 11. 

EIIL— Richard III. 

Eom. — Eomeo and Juliet. 

Shr.— The Taming of the Shrew. 

Sonn. — Sonnets. 

Tim. — Timon of Athens. 

Tit. — Titus Andronicus. 

Tp.— The Tempest. 

Troil. — Troilus and Cressida. 

Tw.— Twelfth Night. 

Ven. — Venus and Adonis. 

Wint.— The Winter's Tale. 

Wiv. — The Merry Wives of Windsor. 



EXPLANATION OF THE REFERENCES TO VARIOUS PASSAGES. 

To those who first take up a book like the present, such letters and 
figures as Mcb, II, 2, 37, have a cabalistic appearance, not very in- 
telligible to the untrained eye. But a little thought and, if neces- 
sary, a reference to the preceding key will show that Mcb. stands for 
Macbeth ; the Koman numerals, II, give the number of the Act ; the 



AND NEW GLOSSARY. 



31 



next figure denotes the number of the Scene, and the figures 37 are 
the number of the required line in that Scene, When traced up, we 
find the passage : Sleep that knits up the ravelVd sleave of care. 
All modern editions of any value have the lines numbered, and to 
those who- use such an edition, the finding of any passage or of any 
word in Shakespeare is a matter of but a few moments. This subject 
we have discussed at greater length on a preceding page under the 
heading, " On the Choice of a Copy of Shakespeare's Works." 

In the following pages all quotations from Shakespeare are printed 
in Italics, and not placed within quotation marks. This enables the 
reader to trace them with great ease. 

EXPLANATION OF OTHER CONTRACTIONS. 



adj. — ad j ecti ve 

adv. — adverb. 

ante — before ; that is : In a preceding 
article in this volume. 

bk. — book. 

cap. — chapter (Latin, caput). 

Cent. Diet.—" The Century Dictionary." 

cf. — con/er (Latin); compare. 

circa — (Latin) ; about ; near that time. 

Coll. MS.— An MS. correction found in 
the copy of the Second Folio be- 
longing to J. P. Collier, and some- 
times called "The Perkins Folio." 
It is now in the possession of the 
Duke of Devonshire. It is almost 
universally charged that these cor- 
rections and emendations were 
forgeries perpetrated by Mr. Col- 
lier. Having examined the evi- 
dence with some care I am con- 
vinced that Mr. -Collier has been 
unjustly dealt with in this matter. 

corns. — commentators. 

Cot. — "A Dictionarie of the French and 
English Tongves." Compiled by 
Eandle Cotgrave. London, 1611. 



diet. — dictionary. 

dr.p. — dramatis persona or personaa 
(Latin) ; a character or characters 
in the play. 

ed. — editor or edition. 

eds. — editors or editions. 

e.g. — for example (Latin, exempli gratia). 

et seq. — and following; usually refer- 
ring to lines. 

Fl.— The First Folio. The first collect- 
ed edition of Shakespeare's plays, 
published in 1623. 

F2.— The Second Folio; 1632. 

F3.— The Third Folio ; 1664. 

F4.— The Fourth Folio ; 1685. 

FF.— All the Folios. 

g. a. — generally accepted. In the ear- 
lier articles the expressions ' 'stand- 
ard text" and "accepted text" will 
be found. This does not mean that 
we have any really authoritative 
text of the works of Shakespeare ; 
it is intended simply as a reference 
to the text as generally received. For 
a further discussion of this ques- 
tion see a preceding page under the 



i 

i 



32 



THE SHAKESPEARE CYCLOPEDIA. 



heading, "The Text of Shake- 
speare." 

id. — idem (Latin) ; the same. 

i.e. — id est (Latin) ; that is. 

m. eds. — modern editors. 

N.E. D.— "The New English Diction- 
ary." Edited by Dr. Murray. 

Q. — Quarto edition. 

Qq — The Quartos. 

q. V. — quod vide (Latin), which see ; that 
is : Look for it under the word in 
question. 

Sc. — Scene. 

Schm. —Schmidt's " Shakespeare-Lexi- 
con." 

Sh. Gram. — "A Shakespearian Gram- 
mar." ByE. A. Abbott, D.D. New 
Edition. 1886. 

s. V. — sub verho (Latin), under the word, 



that is: It will be found under that 
word or heading. 

Scot. — Scotch or Scottish. 

Sh. — Shakespeare or Shakespeare's. 

sic — so ; that is : It is so in the original. 

SrdVar.— The Third Variorum. The 
Plays and Poems of William Shake- 
speare, edited by Malone, and pub- 
lished after his death under the edi- 
torial supervision of James Boswell, 
the son of Johnson's biographer. 

= The algebraic sign signifying equal 
to; here used to indicate having 
the same meaning. 

[ ] Brackets are used in quotations 
to indicate that words and sen- 
tences thus enclosed are not found 
in the original from which the quo- 
tation was taken. 



USEFUL HINTS FOR THOSE WHO CONSULT THIS OTGLOPiEDIA AND 

GLOSSARY. 

In the case of obsolete or unusual words no directions are needed ; they will 
be found in their proper places, either in the body of the work or, in a few 
instances, in the Appendix. And the same is true in regard to proper names, 
such as Hecuba, Heme's Oak, Niobe, Nereides, Nymphs, etc. Some passages, 
however, are obscure as a whole, while the individual words seem plain enough ; 
such passages will generally be found explained under some prominent word 
which they contain. Instances of this will be found under priest, print, rake, 
relative, etc. 

In order to make such reference as easy aa possible, we have added an Appendix 
in which a very large number of cross references are given, as well as a few 
words which were omitted by accident. This Appendix really serves as a very 
efficient index. 

Except in a few special cases, I have not given at length the passages to which 
reference is made. To have done so would have greatly and needlessly increased 
the size of the volume, for it is a fact well known to students that a short quota- 
tion, such as is ordinarily given in Concordances and Glossaries, gives no adequate 
idea of the general scope of the word or expression under consideration. The 
course which is always most safe and satisfactory is to read the j)assage in con- 
nection with the full context and to look up and carefully read any of the other 
passages to which reference may be made. 



THE 



Shakespeare Cyclopaedia 



AND 



New Glossary* 




1. The indefinite article, 
formed from the Anglo- 
Saxon, an, the n being 
dropped except before vow- 
el sounds (see an). In Sh. writings it 
is frequently repeated where modern 
usage omits it, as in Rom. II, 5, 56 : an 
honest gentleman and a courteous and 
a kind. Also often omitted where 
modern usage would insert it : What 
fool is she that knows, Gent. I, 2, 
53 ; Did see man die ! Cym. IV, 4, 
35 ; Cassius, ivhat night is this ! Caes. 
I, 3, 44. In Sh. as frequently in the 
older writers, the article is sometimes 
transposed, as in Troil. V, 6, 20, much 
more a fresher man ; and in LLL. 1, 1, 
65, too hard a keeping oath. See also 
John, IV, 2, 27 ; Err. Ill, 2, 186. 

2. Frequently with the sense of one 
(equivalent to the same): He and his 
2}hysicians are of a '>nind, All's. I, 3, 
244. Rose at an instant, As. I, 3, 76. 

3. A contraction of have : God-a-mercy, 
Hml. IV, 5, 199. 

4. A corruption or dialect form of he : 
a rubs him^self. Ado. Ill, 2, 50. 

5. A mere expletive, void of sense : 
Merrily hent the stile-a, Wint. IV, 3, 
133. For a thorough discussion of the 
use of the article in Sh. see Abbott's 
*' Shakespearian Grammar." 



Aaron, dr. p. The name of the Moor be- 
loved by Tamora. Tit. 

abandon. In addition to the usual mean- 
ing, to leave, to desert (As. V, 1, 52), 
this word in Sh. time signified to ban- 
ish, to drive away. Shr. Ind. 2, 118. 

abate, vb. 1. To overthrow, to humble, 
to depress. Cor. Ill, 3, 132. 

2. To shorten. Mids. Ill, 2,432. 

3. To blunt. RIII. V, 5, 35. 

4. To except ; to leave out. Abate 
throw at novum, LLL. V, 2, 547. 

5. To reduce, to depreciate. Cym. I, 
4 73. 

6.' To lessen. Hml. IV, 7, 116. 

abatement. 1. Diminution. Lr. I, 4, 64. 
2. Lower estimation. Tw. I, 1, 13. 

Abbot of Westminster, dr. p. RII. 

Abcee=book, ) An A-B-C book. A prim- 

Absey-book. ) er. John, I, 1, 196. 

Abergavenny, George Neville, Lord, dr.p. 
HVIII. 

abhominable. The old mode of spelling 
abominable. LLL. V, I, 26. It is so 
spelled in the Promptorium Parvul- 
orum. It appears to have been going out 
of use in the time of Shakespeare (Dyce), 
and Shakespeare seems to ridicule the 
old fashions used by Nathaniel. 

abhor. 1. To protest against or reject sol- 
emnly; an old term of canon law, equiv- 
alent to detestor. HVIII. II, 4, 81. 



(33) 



ABH 



34 



ABY 



2. To loathe; to detest. The common 
meaning. HVIII. II, 4, 236. 

Abhorson, dr. p. The name of the execu- 
tioner in Meas. 

abide. 1. To answer for. Caes. Ill, 2, 
118. See aby. 
2. To wait for. Mids. Ill, 2, 422. 

abjects. Servile or degraded persons. 
RIII. I, 1, 106, The word is also found 
in this sense in Psalm xxxv, 15. 

able, vh. To warrant or answer for. 
Lr. IV, 6, 172. 

abode, vh. To foretell ; to foreshadow. 
3HVI. V, 6, 45 ; HVIII. I, 1, 93. 

abodement. Omen. 3 HVI. IV, 7, 13. 

abortive. Monstrous ; unnatural. 2HVI. 
IV, 1, 60. 

Abraham. 1. The name to which the patri- 
arch's first name (Abram) was changed 
by divine command. 

2. The passage in Rom. II, 1, 13, now 
generally printed : " Young Adam Cu- 
pid," reads : " Abraham Cupid " in the 
Fl, and also in the quartos. " Adam " 
was a conjecture of Upton's, founded 
on the name of the famous archer, 
Adam Bell (see Adam) . Knight conject- 
ures that Cupid was called Abraham 
because he is such a cheat — Abraham- 
man being slang for a cheating beggar. 
To this it has been objected that Abra- 
ham is not used elsewhere in Shakes^ 
peare in this sense — an objection of no 
force whatever, as there are many 
words used only once by Shakespeare. 
The term is old slang, of which a dic- 
tionary was published as early as 1610, 
and it occurs in Awdeley's " Fraternity e 
of Vagabondes " (1565), so that the word 
was no doubt familiar to Shakespeare. 
Schmidt rejects "Adam Cupid," which 
he notes as being used "by modern 
editors quite preposterously, ' ' and then 
tells us that " Young Abraham Cupid " 
is used " in derision of the eternal boy- 
hood of Cupid, though, in fact, he 
was as old as Father Abraham." This 
explanation, besides being very far- 
fetched as well as un-Shakespearean, 
is obviously far less forcible than if 
applied to " Adam Cupid," since, even 



on Schmidt's line of thought, Adam was 
older than Abraham, and Cupid's age 
no doubt reached back to that of the 
father of mankind. 

3. The Christian name of Slender. 
Wiv. I, 1, 57 and 239. 

4. dr. p. Servant to Montague. Rom. 
Abram. 1. At first the name of Abraham, 

the patriarch. Used in Merch. I, 3, 73 
and 162, to conform to the metre. 
2. A form of the word auburn. In Cor. 

II, 3, 23, the First Folio reads: Our 
heads are some browne, some blacke, 
soTYie Abram, some bald, etc. In the 
Fourth Folio Abram was changed to au- 
burn. This led subsequent editors to 
suppose that Abraham in Rom. II, 1, 
13, is a misprint for Abram, and so the 
word was changed by Theobald to au- 
born. See auburn. 

abridgement. 1. That which cuts short, 
as in Hml. II, 2, 439, where he refers to 
the players who cut short his speech. 
2. A pastime, or that which makes the 
time seem short. Mids. V, 1, 39. 

abroach. Literally to set a-running, as 
the liquor runs from a cask when it is 
broached. 2HIV. IV, 2, 14; Rom. I, 
1, 111. 

abrook. vb. To bear ; to abide ; to brook. 
2HVI, II, 4. 

abruption. A stopping short ; breaking 
off. Troil. Ill, 2, 70. 

absey-book. See abcee-book. 

absolute. 1. Authoritative; positive. Hml. 
V, 1, 148. 

2. Complete. 0th. II, 1, 193. 

3. Perfect. Kins. II, 1. 

Absyrtus. Medea's brother, whom she 
cut to pieces when she fled from Col- 
chos with Jason. See Medea. 

abuse, n. Deception. Meas. V, 1, 205 ; 
Hml. IV, 7, 51. 

abuse, vb. To deceive. Tp. V, 1, 112 ; 
Hml. II, 2, 632 ; Lr. IV, 1, 24 ; do IV, 7, 
77. Abuse young lays (Kins. V, 1) = the 
colloquial expression, "murder the 
[love] songs." Skeat. 

aby. To answer for ; to atone for ; to 
expiate ; to pay the penalty for. Mids. 

III, 2, 175. " See abide. 



ABY 



35 



ACR 



abysm. An abyss ; unfathomable depth. 
Tp. I, 2, 50 ; Ant. Ill, 13, 147. 

accept, n. Pass our accept and peremp- 
tory answer. HV. V, 3, 82. The mean- 
ing generally given to the word accept 
here is acceptance, i.e., " pass [or trans- 
mit] our acceptance of what we approve 
and our peremptory answer to the 
rest" {Toilet). Malone and the Collier 
MS. reads "or" for "our," making 
the sense : " reject or accept," and send 
a peremptory answer. 

accite. 1. To cite ; to summon. 2HIV. V, 
2, 141 ; Tit. I, 1, 27. 
2. To incite to ; to instigate. 2HIV. II, 

2, 64. Schmidt and some others think 
that accites in this passage in the First 
Folio is a misprint for excites, which is 
the word given in the Third Folio. 

accomodate. In Shakespeare's time it 
was fashionable to introduce this word, 
properly or improperly, on all occa- 
sions. Ben Jonson calls it "one of the 
perfumed terms of the time." The in- 
definite use of it is well ridiculed by 
Bardolph's vain attempt to define it. 
2HIV. Ill, 2, 80. 

accomplish. To make complete ; to fur- 
nish what is lacking. Merch. Ill, 4, 61 ; 
RII. II, 1, 177 ; HV. IV, Prol. 12. 

accuse, n. Accusation. 2HVI. Ill, 1, 160. 

acerb. Harsh to the taste ; bitter. 0th. 1, 

3, 355. 

Acheron. One of the rivers of hell ; Sh. 
seems to regard it as a lake. Mids. Ill, 
2, 357 ; Tit. IV, 8, 44. Various dark 
lakes and rivers which flowed into 
caves were thought to be openings to 
hell, and this is supposed to be the 
meaning in Mcb. Ill, 5, 15. 

achieve. 1. To conquer. HV. IV, 3, 91. 
2. To obtain possession of. Merch. Ill, 
2, 210 ; 0th. II, 1, 61. 

Achilles, dr.p. Troil. Also in the by- 
play, LLL.V, 2, 635. 

The hero of Homer's Illiad. Alluded 
to 2HVI. V, 1, 100. Achilles wounded 
Telephus, King of Mysia, and the Del- 
phic Oracle, on being consulted, an- 
swered: "The wounder shall heal." 
Telephus thought " the wounder " must 



be Achilles, but Achilles failed to effect 
a cure. Then Ulysses suggested that 
the spear was the wounder. On apply- 
ing some of the rust of the weapon to 
the wound, it was quickly healed. 

Achilles was the son of Peleus, king 
of the Myrmidones in Phthiotis, in 
Thessaly, and of the Nereid Thetis. He 
was taught eloquence and the art of 
war by Phoenix, and Chiron the cen- 
taur taught him the art of healing. He 
was the great bulwark of the Greeks 
against the Trojans, and previous to 
his quarrel with Agamemnon he rav- 
aged the country around Troy, des- 
troyed twelve towns on the coast and 
eleven in the interior. When Agamem- 
non was obliged to restore Chryseis to 
her father, he forced Achilles to give 
up Briseis in her stead, and this caused 
a mortal quarrel between the heroes. 
Achilles refused to take further part in 
the war and "sulked " in his tent. No 
entreaties or promises could move him 
until his friend Patroclus was killed, 
when he took the field to avenge him. 
He slew Hector and many other Tro- 
jans, but was himself killed before Troy 
was taken. 

Achitophel. The counsellor of Absalom, 
cursed by David (2 Samuel, xv, 35). 
2HIV. I, '2, 41. 

acknow. To acknowledge ; to confess. Be 
not acknown on''t=do not confess that 
you know anything about it. 0th. Ill, 
3, 319. In the life of Ariosto, appended 
to Harrington's translation of the Or- 
lando Furioso (1591) we read, "some 
say he was married to her privUie, but 
durst not be acknowne of it. " 

acquit. To be rid of. Wiv. I, 3, 27. 

acquittance, n. 1. Acquittal ; vindica- 
tion. Hml. V, 7, 1. 

2. Receipt ; discharge. LLL. II, 1, 161; 
Wiv. 1, 1, 10. 

acquittance, vb. To acquit ; to clear. 
RIII. Ill, 7, 233. 

across. This word, as it occurs in several 
passages, evidently refers to the prac- 
tice of the tilt-yard, where it was con- 
sidered disgraceful to break the spear 



ACT 



ADO 



across the body of the adversary in- 
stead of by a push in a direct line. Ado. 
V, 1, 139 ; As. Ill, 4, 44 ; All's. II, 1, 70. 

act. 1. Agency ; operation. Hml. I, 2, 205. 
2. Doing ; being active. All's. I, 2, 30. 

Actffion. A famous hunter who incurred 
the wrath of Diana, and was by her 
turned into a stag, so that he was torn 
to pieces by his own hounds. The horns 
which grew from his head are the sym- 
bols of cuckoldom. Wiv. II, 1, 122 ; do. 
Ill, 2, 44 ; Tit. II, 3, 63. 

action=taking. Going to law ; "a fellow, 
who, if you beat him, would bring an 
action for the assault instead of resent- 
ing it like a man of courage." Mason. 
Lr. II, 2, 18. 

acture. Performance ; action. Compl. 185. 

acutely. WittUy. AU's. I, 1, 221. 

Adam. 1. dr. p. The old gardener in As. 
Also Shr. IV, 1, 139. 

2. Picture of old Adam new-apparelled. 
Err. IV, 3, 13. This means the sergeant, 
an evident play upon the word buff, 
which in slang means naked, as Adam 
was ; the sergeant wore a suit of buff. 
We still speak of being ' ' stripped to 
the buff." 

3. Let hhn he clapped on the shoulder 
and called Adam. Ado. I, 1, 261. The 
allusion is to Adam Bell, the famous 
archer. Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough 
{i. e. Clem or Clement of the Cleugh [Sco. ] 
or Cliff), and "William of Cloudesly were 
three noted outlaws, whose skill in arch- 
ery made them as famous in the North 
of England as Robin Hood and his 
fellows were in the Midland counties. 
Their abode was in the forest of Engle- 
wood (firewood or wood for burning in 
the ingle), not far from Carlisle. They 
were generally believed to have lived 
before Robin Hood, and were outlawed 
for the usual ci-ime — killing deer. Two 
of them were bachelors ; the third (Will- 
iam of Cloudesley), had a wife and 
family, and becoming homesick, he ven- 
tured into Carlisle to see them, was 
taken prisoner and at once condemned 
to death, a brand new gallows being set 
up for his execution. A little swine- 



herd carried the news to his two com- 
rades, and the story of his rescue forms 
the subject of a stirring ballad which 
may be found in Percy's "Reliquesof 
Ancient English Poetry." 
4. The name Adam was substituted (er- 
roneously, we think,) for Abraham in 
Rom. II, 1, 13. See Abraham. 

adamant. 1. The lodestone or magnet. 
Mids. II, 1, 195 ; Troil. Ill, 2, 186. 
2. Hesiod and some later writers speak 
of adamant as a very hard, impenetra- 
ble metal used for making armour. 
This, no doubt, led to the use of the 
word as descriptive of an imaginary 
material of great hardness and strength. 
Used in this sense in IHVI. I, 4, 52. 
The modern word diamond is a mere 
corruption of adamant. — Skeat. 

addiction. Inclination. 0th. II, 2, 6. 

addition. 1. Title ; mark of distinction. 
AU's. II, 3, 134; Hml. I, 4, 20; II, 1, 
47. 
2. Exaggeration. Hml. IV, 4, 17. 

address. To set about doing ; to prepare ; 
to make ready. Troil. IV, 4, 148 ; Wiv. 
Ill, 5, 135. 

addressed. Prepared. LLL. II, 1, 83. 

admiration. Wonder ; astonishment. 
Hml. I, 2, 192. 

admire. To wonder. The word has now 
lost much of this meaning. Tp. V, 1, 
154 ; Tw. Ill, 4, 165. 

admittance. Of high fashion ; admitted 
into the best company. Wiv. Ill, 3, 
61 ; do. II, 2, 235. 

Adonis. A beautiful youth beloved by 
Venus. He was killed by a wild boar 
while hunting, and Venus sprinkled his 
blood with nectar, which caused a red 
anemone to spring up on the place 
where he fell. Every year festivals 
were held in his honor, at which women 
carried about earthen pots with some 
lettuce or fennel growing in them. These 
pots were called "Adonis Gardens," 
and as they were thrown away the day 
after the festival the name became a pro- 
verbial expression for things which grow 
fast and soon decay. Sh. however in 
IHVI. 1, 6, 6, seizes upon the idea of 



ADO 



37 



AFE 



rapid growth and ignores that of rapid 

decay. 
adoptions. Given by adoption ; not real. 

AU's. I, 1, 190. 
adornings. See bends. 
adsum. A Latin word signifying " I am 

here." 2H VI. I, 4, 26. 
advance. 1. To promote; to increase the 

value of. Tim. I, 2, 176. 

2. To present ; to show. LLL. V, 2, 123. 

3. To push forward. LLL. IV, 3, 367. 
advantage. 1. Favorable opportunity. 

3HVI. Ill, 2, 192 ; Tp. Ill, 3, 13. 
2. Interest upon money. Merch. I, 3, 
71 ; IHIV. II, 4, 599. 

advantageable. Advantageous ; profit- 
able. HV. V, 2, 88. 

advertise. To inform, 2HVI. IV, 9, 23. 

advertisement. 1. Intelligence ; informa- 
tion. IHIV. Ill, 2, 172. 
2. Admonition ; advice. All's. 3, 240 ; 
IHIV. IV, 1, 36. 

advice. Consideration ; discretion. Gent. 
II, 4, 207 ; 2HVI. II, 2, 68. 

advise. 1. To consider; to reflect. Tw. 

IV, 2, 102 ; HV. Ill, 6, 168. 

2. To inform ; to instruct. Gent. Ill, 1, 
122 ; 2HIV. I, 1, 172. 
advised. Considerate ; deliberate. 2HVI. 

V, 2, 47. 

advocation. Pleading. 0th. Ill, 4, 123. 

^cides. This term means a descendant of 
^acus, " ides " being a patronymic suf- 
fix. See Ajax. Shr. Ill, 1, 52. 

sedile. An officer in ancient Rome who 
had charge of the public buildings and 
streets. At first the office was of great 
honor and importance, but later the aed- 
iles became little better than police-of- 
ficers, such as Sh. represents them. For 
this Schm. takes him to task. 

iCmilia, dr.p. An abbess at Ephesus ; 
Wife to ^geon. Err. 

JEneaSy dr.p. One of the Trojan com- 
manders. Troil. 

^neas was the son of Anchises and 
Aphrodite, and was born on Mount Ida. 
On his father's side he was related to 
the royal house of Troy. At first he 
took no part in the Trojan war, but 
when Achilles attacked him and drove 



away his flocks, he led his Dardanians 
against the Greeks, and he and Hector 
were the great bulwarks of the Tro- 
jans. On the fall of the city he bore his 
aged father on his shoulders through the 
flames. His wife, Creusa, the daughter 
of Priam and Hecuba, was lost in the 
hurry of flight. Hence the allusion, 
Tp. II, 1, 79, to "widower ^neas." 
His landing at Carthage and his meet- 
ing with Dido are irreconcilable with 
chronology. The Romans long held 
that he was their ancestor, Ascanius 
being the progenitor of Numitor, grand- 
father of Romulus and Remus. 

>Eolus. The god of the winds. 2HVI. 
Ill, 2, 92. 

aery. See aiery. 

.<Csculapius. The son of Apollo, was the 
god of medicine. He worked so many 
wonderful cures that Jove, fearing he 
would render men immortal, killed him 
with thunderbolts. -lEsculapius was 
worshipped all over Greece, his temples 
being always built in healthful places 
and near wells supposed to have heal- 
ing powers. These temples were not 
only places of worship, but were fre- 
quented by great numbers of sick peo- 
ple, so that they were really hospitals 
or sanitariums. Per. Ill, 2, 111. 

Dr. Caius is called -lEsculapius in jest. 
Wiv. II, 3, 29. 

.^sop. The author of the fables is sup- 
posed to have been a hunchback. 3HVI, 
V, 5, 25. 

afeard. Afraid. Wiv. Ill, 4, 28. 

affects, n. Inclinations ; desires. LLL. 

I, 1, 152 ; 0th. I, 3, 264. 

affect, vb. 1. To be in love with. Gent. 

III, 1, 82 ; Wiv. II, 1, 115 ; Kins. II, 4. 
2. To Uke. Troil. IV, 5, 178 ; 0th. Ill, 

3 229 
3.' To aim at. 2HVI. IV, 7, 104; Tit. 

II, 1, 105. 

affectioned. Full of affectation. Tw. II, 

3, 162. 
affections. Things desired or liked. Cor. 

I, 1, 181 ; Kins. I, 3. 
affeered. Confirmed ; sanctioned. Mcb. 

IV, 3, 34. "It is a law term, applied 



AFF 



38 



AIE 



to the fixing of a fine in cases where it 
is not fixed by statute. "—i?oZ/e. 

affiance. Confidence. HV. II, 2, 127; 
Cym. I, 6, 163. 

affined. Bound by a tie. 0th. I, 1, 39. 

affray. To frighten. Rom. Ill, 5, 33. 

affront, n. Gave the affront='presented 
the face or front ; encountered. Cym. 
V, 3, 87. 

affront, vb. To face ; to encounter. Wint. 
V, 1, 75 ; Troil. Ill, 2, 174 ; Hml. Ill, 
1,31. 

affy. 1. To confide in ; Tit. I, 1, 47. 
2. To betroth. Shr. IV, 4, 49. 

afront. In front. IHIV. II, 4, 222. 

after. At the rate of. Meas. II, 1, 253. 

against. Opposite. Caes. I, 3, 20. 

Agamemnon, dr.p. The leader of the 
Greeks before Troy. Troil. 

Agamemnon was the son of Pleis- 
thenes and grandson of Atreus, King 
of Mycenae, in whose house Agamem- 
non and his brother Menelaus were ed- 
ucated after the death of their father ; 
but being driven from home they wan- 
dered to Sparta, where Agamemnon 
married Clytemnestra, by whom, with 
other children, he had a daughter, the 
famous Iphigenia. When the wife of 
Menelaus was carried off by Paris, the 
brothers appealed to all the GTreek 
chiefs for aid against Troy. Agamem- 
non was chosen chief of the expedition, 
and furnished one hundred ships, be- 
sides sixty that he lent to the Arcadi- 
ans. After the fall of Troy, he received 
Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, as 
his prize, and after various disasters 
reached Argolis, in the dominion of 
^gisthus, who had seduced Clytemnes- 
tra during the absence of her husband, 
^gisthus invited Agamemnon and his 
companions to a feast, and during the 
progress of the repast, treacherously 
murdered his guests. Clytemnestra on 
the same occasion murdered Cassandra, 
her motive being partly jealousy and 
partly her adulterous life with ^gis- 
thus. 

^schylus makes Clytemnestra alone 
murder Agamemnon. She threw a net 



over him while he was in the bath, and 

slew him with three strokes. 
agate. A stone which consists of quartz 

or fiint ; little figures were often cut in 

it and the stone was then set in a ring. 

Hence in Sh. it is the symbol of small- 

ness. Ado. Ill, 1, 65 ; 2HIV. I, 2, 19 ; 

Rom. I, 4, 55. 
agazed. Looking in amazement, IHVI. 

1, 1, 126. 

age» golden. The ancients believed that 
there were four ages : — 1, the golden ; 

2, the silver; 3, the brazen; 4, the iron. 
The golden age was during the reign of 
Saturn, when the earth brought forth 
fruits and grain without the labor of 
man, and war, robbery and crime were 
unknown. The silver age began after 
Jupiter had supplanted his father. In 
the brazen age, men began to rob and 
make war. The iron age is that in 
which we now live. Tp. II, 1, 168. 

Agenor. The father of Europa. See Eu- 

aglet. The tag at end of a point or lace ; 
they were frequently cut or moulded 
into the form of grotesque images ; 
hence aglet-baby =an aglet in the form 
of a small human image. Shr. I, 2, 79. 

agnize. To acknowledge ; to confess. 
0th. I, 3, 232. 

agood. Heartily ; freely ; plentifully. 
Gent. IV, 4, 170. 

Aguecheek, Sir Andrew, dr.p. Tw. 

a=hold. A sea-term, meaning : Lay the 
ship as near to the wind as possible, in 
order to keep clear of the land and get 
her out to sea. Tp. I, 1, 52. 

aidance. Assistance. Ven. 330 ; 2HVL 
III, 2, 165. 

aidant. Helpful. Lr. IV, 4, 17. 

aiery. The brood of a bird of prey. RIII. 
I, 3, 264 ; Hml. II, 2, 354. 

Moberly explains the latter thus: 
"What brings down the professional 
actors is the competition of a nest of 
young hawks (the boys of the Chapel 
Royal, etc.) who carry on the whole 
dialogue without modulation at the top 
of their voices, get absurdly applauded 
for it, and make such a noise on the 



AIG 



39 



ALL 



common stage, that the true dramat- 
ists, whose wit is as strong and keen 
as a rapier, are afraid to encounter 
these chits, who fight, as it were, with a 
goose-quill! " 

The word also signifies the nest, but 
does not seem to be so used by Sh. 

aigre. Sour^ Hml. I, 5, 69, Found at 
present in the compound vinegar (vin 
aigre sour wine). See eager. 

aim. 1. To guess. 2HVI. II, 4, 58 ; Rom. 
I, 1, 211. 

2. To cry aim= to applaud ; to encour- 
age. A cry or shout originally used in 
archery to encourage the archer. It 
afterwards became of general applica- 
tion. John, II, 1, 196. 

aio te. See oracle. 

Ajax, dr.p. A Greek hero who acted a 
prominent part in the siege of Troy. 
Troil. 

Ajax was the son of Telamon, and 
grandson of ^acus, and famed for his 
great strength and physical beauty. 
His shield was made of seven folds of 
bull's hide. Infuriated at the decision 
which awarded the arms of the dead 
Achilles to Ulysses, he became mad and 
attacked the sheep of the Greeks, think- 
ing that they were his enemies. When 
he regained his senses he was so much 
ashamed of himself that he committed 
suicide. These points in his history are 
referred to many times in Sh. LLL. IV. 
3, 7 ; 2HVI. V, 1, 26 ; Tit. I, 1, 379. 
Two rather coarse puns on his name 
will be found in LLL. V, 2, 581, and 
Troil. II, 1, 70. 

Alarbus, dr.j). The eldest son of Tam- 
ora. Tit. 

Albany, Duke of, dr.p. Lr. 

The name "Albania" was given to 
all the territory north of the Humber. 
Hollingshed tells us it was named after 
Albanacte, youngest son of Bronte. 

Alcibiades, dr.p. Tim. 

Alcibiades was the son of Clinias and 
Dinomache, born B.C. 450. He was 
noted for the beauty of his person, 
great abilities and large wealth. He 
was the pupil and friend of Socrates. 



Being accused of profanation in Athens, 
he fled to Sparta and became the open 
enemy of his country. He was recalled, 
however, and commanded the Athen- 
ians in the victory over the Pelopone- 
sians and Persians. But the defeat at 
Notium led to his deposition, and after 
the fall of Athens he went into volun- 
tary exile. He was treacherously mur- 
dered by assassins, hired either by the 
Spartans or by the brothers of a lady 
whom he had seduced. 

Alcides. The original name of Hercules, 
the change being made by the Delphic 
Oracle. "Alcides" is a patronymic 
formed from Alcseus, the father of Am- 
phytro, the reputed father of Hercules. 
Shr. I, 2, 260. The "twelve " there al- 
luded to, are the twelve labours of Her- 
cules. See Hercules. 

alder=liefest. Dearest of all. 2HVI. I, 
1, 28. 

ale. Sometimes used for ale-house, as in 
Gent. II, 5, 61. Minor church festivals 
were sometimes called "ales." 

Alecto. One of the three Furies. 2HIV. 
V, 5, 39. See Furies. 

Alexander, dr.p. Servant to Cressida. 
Troil. 

Alexander the Great. According to Plut- 
arch the head of Alexander had a twist 
towards the left, and his skin had "a 
marvellous good savour." This ex- 
plains the jokes in LLL. V, 2, 565-68. 

Alexas, dr.p. Attendant on Cleopatra. 
Ant. 

Aliena. The name assumed by Celia when 
she left home. As. 

allay, n. That which abates or lessens. 
Wint. IV, 2, 9. 

allay ment. 1. Abatement. Troil. IV, 4, 
8. 
2. Antidote ; modifier. Cym. I, 5 22. 

Alice, dr.p. Attendant on Princess Kath- 
arine. HV. 

all=hallond eve. The eve of All Saints' 
day. Meas. II, 1, 130. 

all=hallowmas. November 1st. Wiv. I, 
1, 211. 

all=hallown. All-hallown suniTner = a 
summer which lasts late into the fall. 



ALL 



40 



AMA 



Falstafi was getting old in years, but his 
mirth and geniahty were still those of 
the summer of life. Steevens, on the 
other hand, says "Sh.'s allusion is de- 
signed to ridicule an old man with 
youthful passions." IHIV. I, 2, 178. 

all hid. The game of hide-and-seek. LLL. 
IV, 3, 78. 

all loves. See loves. 

alligant. A blunder of Mrs. Quickly or 
the printer. Wiv. II, 3, 69. Dyce says 
the correct word is "elegant ;" Schmidt 
says that ' ' elegant ' ' is not a Shakes- 
pearean word, and that probably the 
correct word is ' ' eloquent. ' ' The word 
elegant is found in Cotgrave, so that it 
was in use in Sh.'s time, and Sh. uses 
the word elegancy. LLL. IV, 2, 126. 

allicholly. Said to be a blunder of Mrs. 
Quickly 's (Wiv. I, 3, 162), but found also 
in Gent. IV, 2, 27, where, in the Fl it is 
spelled allycholly. Probably a corrup- 
tion of melancholy. In the Fl the word 
melancholy of the modern text is spelled 
inallicholie. 

allow. 1. Approve or praise. 2HIV. IV, 
2, 54. 

2. To license ; to be privileged. Tw. I, 
5, 101 ; LLL. V, 2, 478. 

3. To appoint. LLL. I, 2, 136. 

4. Allotv the ivind=do not stand between 
me and the wind if your odour is so 
strong. All's. V, 2, 10. 

allowance. 1. Approbation; authoriza- 
tion. HVIII. Ill, 2, 322 ; Lr. I, 4, 228 ; 
0th. I, 1, 128. 

2. Confirmation. Kins. V, 4. 

3. Idiomatic : — of very expert and ap- 
proved a?Zoit7ance=allowed to be expert 
and approved (tested). 0th. II, 1, 49. 

4. Regards of safety and allowance^ 
terms securing the safety of the country 
and regulating the passage of the troops 
through it (Clarendon). Hml. II, 2, 79. 

allowing. Conniving. "Wint. I, 2, 185. 

allusion. Of this word Schmidt says : 
" Perhaps used by Holof ernes in its old 
Latin meaning of. jesting [playing], but 
it may have the modern sense of refer- 
ence.'' LLL. IV, 2, 42. Either defini- 
tion makes good sense in this passage. 



Almain. A German. 0th. II, 3, 86. 
alms=drink. Warburton defined this as 
' ' a phrase amongst good fellows to sig- 
nify that liquor of another's share which 
his companion drinks to ease him." 
Others say that it means the leavings 
of drink, or such as might be given 
away in alms — in other words " heel- 
taps." Ant. II, 7,5. 
aloes. A very bitter drug ; hence the sym- 
bol of bitterness. Compl. 273. 
Alonso, dr. p. King of Naples. Tp. 
Althaea. The wife of GEneus, King of 
Calydon, by whom she had a son, Me- 
leager. At the bii'th of Meleager the 
three Fates visited the house and threw 
a brand into the fire, declaring that the 
child's life should last as long as the 
piece of wood. Althaea snatched the 
brand from the fire, and kept it care- 
fully until Meleager slew her two broth- 
ers, when she burned the brand and her 
son died. 2IIVI. I, 1, 234. In a note on 
2HIV. II, 2, 92 Johnson says : "Shakes- 
peare has confounded Althaea's fire- 
brand with Hecuba's. The firebrand of 
Althsea was real, but Hecuba, when she 
was big with Paris, dreamed that she 
was delivered of a firebrand that con- 
sumed the kingdom." See Meleager., 
Paris and firebrand. 
Alton. Lord Verdun of Alton, one of Tal- 
bot's titles. IHVI. IV, 7, 65. 
Amaimon [ The name of a devil whom 
Amamon ) Randle Holme, in his "Ac- 
ademic of Armourie," calls "the chief 
whose dominion is on the north part of 
the infernal gulph." Wiv. II, 2, 311 ; 
IHIV. II, 4, 370. 
Amazonian. 1. Like an Amazon or fe- 
male warrior. 3HVI. I, 4. 114. 
2. Beardless. Cor. II, 2, 95. 
Amazons. A race of female warriors said 
to have come from the Caucasus, and to 
have settled in the country about the 
river Thermodon, where they founded 
the city Themiscyra, west of the modern 
Trebizond. They allowed no men in 
their country. They are said to haye 
founded the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, 
Cyme, Myrina and Paphos. Amongst 



AMB 



41 



ANG 



the adventures credited to them is the 
invasion of Lycia and Phrygia. One 
of the labors imposed on Hercules was 
to take from Hippolyte, the Amazonian 
queen, the girdle which was the sign of 
her queenly power. During the Trojan 
war they went to the assistance of Pri- 
am, but their queen, Penthesilea, was 
slain by Achilles. An attempt has been 
made in recent years to identify the 
Amazons with the Hittites, whose god- 
dess was served by an immense army of 
priestesses. Mids. II, 1, 70; John, V, 
3, 155. 

amble. 1. To move easily and gently with- 
out bumping. Ado. V, 1, 159. 
2. To move affectedly. Hml. Ill, 1, 151. 

ames=ace. Now generally spelled ambes- 
ace, literally both aces {ambo and as). 
The lowest throw at dice. All's. II, 3, 
85. 

Amiens, dr.p. A lord, attendant on the 
exiled duke. As. 

amiss. 1. Misfortune ; disaster. Hml. IV, 
5, 18. 
2. Offence. Sonn. XXXV, 7. 

amort. Dispirited. All amort = quite 
dejected. From the French a la mort. 
Shr. IV, 3, 36. 

an. 1. The indefinite article. Anglo-Sax- 
on one. 

2, It. An I may hide 77iy face. Mids. 
I, 2, 53. Also with the sense of though. 
An thou wert a lion. LLL. V, 2, 627. 

"The Icelandic use of en da in the 
sense, not only of 'moreover' but of 
' if, ' is the obvious origin of the use of 
the Middle English and in the sense of 
if. In order to differentiate the senses, 
i.e., to mark off the two meanings of 
a7id more readily, it became at last 
usual to drop the final d when the word 
was used in the sense of ' if , ' a use very 
common in Sh. Thus Sh. 's an is nothing 
but a Scandinavian use of the common 
word and.'''' — Skeat. 

anatomy. A skeleton ; generally used in 
contempt. Err. V, 1, 238 ; Kins. V, 1. 

Anchises. The father of ^neas. On the 
taking of Troy he was carried out of 
the burning city on his son's shoulders. 



and lived through a good part of the 
wanderings of the Trojans, but died in 
Sicily before reaching Latium. Troil. 
IV, 1, 21 ; Cses. I, 2, 114. 

anchor. An anchorite ; a hermit. Hml. 
Ill, 2, 229. 

ancient. 1. A banner or standard. An 
old faced ancient = an old patched ban- 
ner. IHIV. IV, 2, 34. 
2. An ensign; a standard bearer. 0th. 
1, 1, 33. 

ancientry. 1. Old people. Wint. Ill, 3, 
63. 

2. The manners of old age. Ado. II, 1, 
80. 

Andrew. Evidently a ship, but why called 
" Andrew " has never been properly ex- 
plained. The suggestion that it was 
after the famous Genoese admiral, An- 
drea Doria, who died in 1560, is not gen- 
erally accepted. Merch. I, 1, 27. 

Andromaclie, dr.p. Wife of Hector. 
Troil. 

Andromache was a daughter of 
Eetion, King of the Cilician Thebae, and 
one of the noblest and most amiable of 
the female characters in the Iliad. Her 
father and seven brothers were slain by 
Achilles at the taking of Thebae. She 
was married to Hector, by whom she 
had a son, Scamandris. On the taking 
of Troy, her son was hurled from the 
waU of the city, and she herself fell to 
the share of the son of AchiUes, to whom 
she bore three sons. She afterwards 
became the wife of Helenus, brother of 
Hector, her first husband. After his 
death she followed one of her sons to 
Pergamus, where she died, and where a 
shrine was erected in her honor. 

Andronicus, Marcus, dr.p. A tribune; 
brother of Titus. Tit. 

Andronicus, Titus, dr.p. A noble Ro- 
man, general against the Goths. Tit. 

Angel. 1. A messenger of God; a good 
spirit. HV. I, 2, 8; Hml. V, 1, 265. 

2. A demon; evil genius. Mcb. V, 8, 14. 

3. Applied by the Greeks to birds of au- 
gury, and hence used by the old writers 
to signify a bird. 

In Massinger's " Virgin Martyr " the 



ANG 



42 



ANT 



Roman eagle is spoken of as the Roman 
Angel. Angel implies a bird of good 
omen, to the exclusion of such ill- 
omened birds as the crow, the cuckoo 
and the raven. — Skeat. Kins. I, 1. 
Song. 

4. Ancient angel=^'' An old Angell, and 
by metaphor a fellow of the old, sound, 
honest, and worthie, stamp." Cot- 
grave's "Dictionary" (1611), s. v. An- 
gelot. Also s. v. escaille: "An old An- 
gell and (metaphorically) one that hath 
in him more stuff and worth, than form 
or fashion. " Shr. IV, 2, 61. 

5. Darling; special friend (Craik). Caes. 
Ill, 2, 185. 

6. A gold coin worth about ten shillings 
or $2. 50. Hence the puns between coins 
and good spirits, both being called an- 
gels. 2HIV. I, 2, 187. The coin was so 
called because it had on one side a fig- 
ure of the archangel Michael, trampling 
on the dragon (Satan or Lucifer), and 
on the other a cross surmounting the 
escutcheon of England. 

Angelica, dr. p. Christian name of Lady 
Capulet. Rom. IV, 4, 5. 

Angelo, dr. p. Name of the goldsmith in 
Err. Also of the deputy in Meas. 

Angus, dr .p. A Scottish nobleman. Mcb. 

An-heires. A word found in Wiv. II, 1, 
228. It is evidently nonsense. Theo- 
bald suggested Mynheers; others give 
on here; on hearts; on heroes^ and 
hear us. Hearts is used in a similar 
connection in Wiv. Ill, 2, 85. 

a=night. By night. As. II, 4, 48. 

Anna. Daughter of Belus and sister of 
Dido, whose confidante she was, both 
with regard to the love of the latter for 
..^neas, and her despair when he an- 
nounced his intention of leaving Carth- 
age. After the death of Dido she fled 
to Italy, where she was kindly received 
by uEneas, but excited the jealousy of 
his wife, Lavinia. Being warned in a 
dream by Dido, she drowned herself. 
Shr. 1, 1, 159. 

Anne, Lady, dr.p. Daughter of the Earl 
of Warwick, and widow of Edward, 
Prince of Wales. RIII. 



Anne BuUen, dr.p. Afterwards queen. 
HVIII. 

annexion. Addition. Lov. Compl. 208. 

annexment. Appendage. Hml. Ill, 3, 21. 

annothanize. One of Armado's high- 
flown words manufactured for the oc- 
casion. Probably to annotate ; the late 
folios have anatomize. It evidently 
means to explain the sentence by an- 
alysing it. LLL. IV, 1, 69. 

anon. 1: Immediately. Wiv. IV, 2, 41. 

2. Again; then. LLL. IV, 2, 6. 

3. Answer to a call ; equivalent to the 
modern "coming." IHIV. II, 1, 5. 

answer. 1. Retaliation ; retribution. 
Cym. V, 3, 79. 

2. Atonement ; punishment. Tim. V, 
4, 63 ; Cym. IV, 4, 13. 

3. In fencing it is the coming in or 
striking in return after having parried 
or received a hit. Schm. Tw. Ill, 4, 
305 ; Hml. V, 2, 280. 

answerable. Corresponding. 0th. I, 3, 
351. 

Antenor, dr.p. A Trojan commander. 
Troil. 

Antenor was the son of ^syetes and 
Cleomestra. According to Homer, he 
was one of the wisest among the elders 
at Troy. He received Menelaus and 
Ulysses into his house when they came 
to Troy as ambassadors, and advised 
his fellow-citizens to restore Helen to 
Menelaus. He is represented as a traitor 
to his country, and when sent to Aga- 
memnon, just before the taking of Troy, 
to negotiate peace, he concerted a plan 
of delivering the city, and even the pal- 
ladium, into the hands of the Greeks, 
who spared him after the capture of 
the city. Of his subsequent history 
various accounts are given. 

anthropophagi. Cannibals ; man-eaters. 
0th. I, 3, 144. 

anthropophaginian. Literally, a canni- 
bal ; but in the mouth of the Host, a 
meaningless term, used because it has a 
pompous sound. Wiv. IV, 5, 10. 

antic, n. 1. Odd and fantastic shapes 
and appearances. Lucr. 459 ; LLL. V, 
1, 119. 



ANT 



43 



APP 



2. The fool in the old plays. Shr. Ind, 
I, 101 ; RII. Ill, 2, 163 ; Troil. V, 3, 86. 

3. An antique dance ; a quaint dance. 
Skeat, Kins. IV, 1. 

This word is spelled antique, antick 
and antic indifferently ; but in Sh. the 
accent is always on the first syllable, 
whatever may be the meaning. 

antic, vb. To make grotesque ; to turn 
into a fool. Ant. II, 7, 132. 

antic, adj. 1. Odd ; fantastic ; grotesque. 

Rom. I, 5, 58 ; do. II, 4, 29 ; Hml. I, V, 

ir2 ; Mcb. IV, 1, 130. 

2. Ancient; belonging to old times. 

Sonn. 59, 7 ; As. II, 3, 57 ; Hml. V, 2, 57. 

Antigonus, dr.p. A Sicilian lord. Wint. 

Antiochus, dr.p. King of Antioch. Per. 

Antiochus, dr.p. Daughter of Antio- 
chus. Per. 

Antipholus of Ephesus, ) dr.p, Twin 

Antipholus of Syracuse, (brothers, 
sons of .^geon, but unknown to each 
other. Err. 

The father of Proteus. 



A sea-captain. Tw. 
The usurping Duke of 



Antonio, dr.p. 
Gent. 

Antonio, dr.p. 

Antonio, dr.p. 
Milan. Tp. 

Antonio, dr.p. Brother of Leonato. Ado. 

Antonio, dr.p. The Merchant of Venice. 
Merch. 

Antony, Marc, dr.p. The Roman Tri- 
umvir. Ant. 

antre. A cavern. 0th. I, 3, 140. 

ape. To lead apes in hell was said to be 
the punishment of old maids. Ado. II, 
1, 43 ; Shr. II, 1, 34. See barefoot. 

" Unpeg the basket on the house's top, 
Let the birds fly and, like the famous ape, 
To try conclusions in the basket creep, 
And break your own neck down." 

Hml . Ill, 4, 194. 

No one has yet found the fable to 
which this passage evidently refers, and 
hence a full explanation is wanting. 
Sir John Suckling, in one of his let- 
ters, may possibly allude to the same 
story. "It is the story of the jack- 
anapes and the partridges ; thou star- 
est after a beauty till it be lost to thee, 



and then let'st out another, and starest 
after that till it is gone too.''— Warner. 
But this only half the story. 

Apemantus, dr.p. A churlish philoso- 
pher. Tim. 

Apollo. Apollo was the god of the sun, 
of prophecy and the fine arts. One of 
the great Olympian gods, the son of 
Jupiter and Latona. He had a famous 
oracle at Delphos in Phocis, which was 
consulted by the ancients in all emer- 
gencies. (See Wint. III. 2.) The am- 
biguous character of the answers kept 
the oracle from becoming discredited, 
since it was always possible, after the 
event, to interpret the oracle in such a 
way as to make it seem to have fore- 
told what had actually taken place. 

apothecary, an, dr.p. Rom. 

apparent. Heir-apparent. Wint. I, 2, 
177 ; 3HVI. II, 2, 64. 

appeach. To impeach; to inform against. 
RII. V, 2, 79 ; Alls. I, 3, 197. 

appeal, n. Accusation. Meas. V, 1, 303. 

appeal, vb. To accuse. RII. I, 1, 9. 

appeared. Made apparent. The mean- 
ing obviously is that the identity of Ni- 
canor is made apparent by his speech. 
Cor. IV, 3, 9. Instead of appeared the 
Globe Ed. has approved. The Fl has 
appeared, which is decidedly more 
Shakespearean. 

apperil. Peril ; risk. Tim. 1, 2, 32. 

appertainment. That which appertains, 
as dignity, attributes, prerogatives. 
Troil. II, 3, 87. 

apple=john. A kind of apple that keeps 
long, but becomes shriveled and wrink- 
led. Said to keep for two years. The 
variety is supposed to be lost. IHIV, 
III, 3, 5. 

appointment. Preparation; equipment. 
Meas. Ill, 1, 60. 

apprehension. Keenness of wit. Ado. 
Ill, 4, 68. 

apprehensive. Quick to understand. 
Cses. Ill, 1, 67. 

apricock. Apricot. Mids. Ill, 1, 173. 

approbation. Probation. Meas. I, 2, 183. 

approof. 1. Approval. Meas. II, 4, 174. 
2. Proof; test. Of very valiant ap- 



APP 



44 



ARI 



proof=proYed or tested valor. All's. 
II, 5, 3. 

approve. 1. To prove. RII. I, 3, 112. 
2. To justify. Lr. II, 4, 186. 

apron=man. A mechanic. One who 
wears an apron as the badge of his 
trade. (See Caes. I, 1, 7.) Cor. IV, 6, 87. 

apt. Natural; probable. 0th. II, 1, 296. 

Aquilon. The north wind. Troil. IV, 5, 9. 

Arabian bird. The phoenix. Ant. Ill, 2, 
12 ; Cjm. I, 6, 17. See phoenix. 

Aracline. A Lydian maiden, daughter 
of Idmon, who was a famous dyer. 
She was a skilful weaver, and so proud 
of her talent that she ventured to chal- 
lenge Minerva (Athena) to compete 
with her. Arachne produced a piece of 
cloth in which the amours of the gods 
were pictured, and as Minerva could 
find no fault with it, she tore the work 
to pieces, and Arachne hung herself. 
The goddess loosened the rope and saved 
her life, but the rope was changed into 
a cobweb and Arachne herself into a 
spider, the animal most odious to Mi- 
nerva. Arachne'' s broken woof== a 
spider's web. Troil. IV, 2, 152. 

The name is sometimes spelled Ari- 
achne. 

arch. Foremost; of the highest rank. 
Strangely enough, Schmidt defines arch 
as "wicked." It has no reference to 
goodness or badness ; there are arch- 
angels as well as arch-demons, and 
many archbishops are undoubtedly 
good men. 

Archbishop of Canterbury, Cranmer 
dr.p. HVIII. 

Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal 
Bourchier, dr.p. RIII. 

Archbishop of Canterbury, Chickeley, 
dr.p. HV. 

Archbishop of York, Scroop, dr.p. 
IHIV ; 2HIV. 

Archbishop of York, Thomas Rotheram, 
dr.p. RIII. 

Archduke of Austria, dr.p. John. 

Archibald, Earl of Douglas, dr.p. IHIV ; 
2HIV. 

Archidamus, dr.p. A Bohemian lord. 
Wint. 



Arcite, dr.p. Nephew to Creon, King 

of Thebes. Kins. 
Arden. The forest in which the scene of 
As, is laid. The location of Arden has 
been the subject of much discussion, 
but apparently without reaching any 
very satisfactory conclusion, probably 
for the reason that Sh. 's forest is purely 
ideal and had no "local habitation." 
The forest of Ardennes, in French 
Flanders, has been very generally ac- 
cepted as the forest that is meant ; but 
more recently the forest of Arden, in 
Warwickshire, seems to be recognized 
as that which furnished Sh. with most 
of his imagery. For a thorough pre- 
sentation of the subject see " The Vari- 
orum Shakespeare," by Dr. Furness, 
Vol. VIII. 
argal. The clown's corruption of the 

Latin ergro=therefore. Hml. V, 1, 13. 
argentine. Silvery. Per. V, 1, 251. 
Argier. Algiers. Tp. I, 2, 261. 
argo. A corruption of ergo. See argal. 

2HIV. IV, 2, 31. 
argosy. Originally a vessel of Ragusa, 
or Ragosa; a Ragosine. Hence, any 
large merchantman. Merch. I, 1, 9. 

Some derive the word from Argo^ 

the name of the ship in which Jason 

and his comrades sailed in search of the 

golden fieece. 

argument. Subject; contents. IHIV. 

11,4,310; Tim. II, 2, 187. 
Argus, surnamed Panoptes, "the all-see- 
ing," because he had a hundred eyes. 
He was of superhuman strength, and 
slew a fierce bull which ravaged Arca- 
dia ; a satyr who robbed and mur- 
dered; a serpent which rendered the 
roads unsafe, and the murderers of 
Apis. Hera then appointed him to 
guard the cow into which lo had been 
changed; but Hermes carried off the 
cow, having first slain Argus. Hera 
(Juno) transplanted his eyes to the tail of 
her favorite bird, the peacock. LLL. 
Ill, 1, 201 ; Merch. V, 1, 230. See lo. 
Ariachne. See Arachne. 
Ariel, dr.p. An airy spirit under Pros- 
pero's command. Tp. 



ARI 



45 



ASC 



Arion. The allusion to "Arion on the 
dolphin's back" refers to the well- 
known adventure of Arion as related 
by Herodotus. Arion spent the greater 
part of his life at the court of Perian- 
der, at Corinth, but on one occasion he 
went to Sicily, to take part in a musical 
contest. He won the prize, and, laden 
with presents, he embarked for Corinth 
in a Corinthian ship. The sailors, cov- 
eting his wealth, determined to murder 
him, and the only favor they would 
grant him was that he might once more 
sing and play on his cithara. Arrayed 
in festal attire, he sat on the prow of 
the ship and sang and played. Many 
dolphins gathered around, and one of 
them, enchanted by the music, took 
him on its back and carried him to 
Tgenarus, whence he made his way to 
Corinth. Periander refused to believe 
his story ; but when the vessel arrived 
he questioned the sailors, and they said 
they had left him happy and prosper- 
ous at Tarentum. Then Arion, at the 
bidding of Periander, came forward. 
The sailors owned their guilt and were 
punished. Tw. I, 2, 15. 

Aristotle. Born at Stagira, in Macedo- 
nia, B.C. 354. Hence called the Stagir- 
ite. He is referred to in Troil. II, 2, 
166. One of Sh's anachronisms. Troy 
was taken B.C. 1184 — nearly 800 years 
before Aristotle was born. 

Artnado, Don Adriano de, dr.p. A fan- 
tastical Spaniard. LLL. 

arm. To take in the arms and lift. Cym. 
IV, 2, 400; or, to take in one's arms 
and embrace. Kins. V, 3. 

armigero. A mistake for armiger, Latin 
for esquire. Wiv. I, 1, 10. 

arm=gaunt. A word of which the mean- 
ing is unsettled. May have been formed 
by the printers in reading some un- 
intelligible manuscript. Singer sug- 
gests "arrogant," which suits well 
with the sense. Others suggest "ram- 
pant," but the article an favours 
"arrogant." Ant. I, 5, 47. 

armipotent. Mighty in arms. LLL. V, 
2, 650; AU's. IV, 3, 265; Kins. V. 1. 



aroint, ) Begone; avaunt. A word of 

aroynt. [doubtful origin. Occurs twice 
in Sh., viz., Mcb. I, 3, 6, and Lr. Ill, 4, 
129. Said to be still used in Cheshire 
by milkmaids in speaking to their cows, 
with the meaning of get out of the 
way. 

Arragon, Prince of, dr.p. Suitor to Por- 
tia. Merch. 

arras. Tapestry covering the walls of a 
room. Hml. II, 2, 163. 

arrest. We arrest your words=we ac- 
cept your word or take you at your 
word. Meas. II, 4, 134 ; LLL. II, 1, 160. 

arrose. To sprinkle. Kins. V, 4. 

Artemidorus, dr.p. A sophist of Cnidus. 
Caps. 

Arthur, Prince, dr.p. Nephew to King 
John. John. 

Arthur's bosom. Mrs. Quickly's blun- 
der for Abraham's bosom. HV. II, 
3, 10. 

Arthur's Show. An archery exhibition 
by a society of London archers, who 
assumed the names of Arthur and his 
knights. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 303. 

articulate. 1. To enter into articles of 
agreement. Cor. I, 9, 77. 
2. To specify. IHIV. V, 1, 72. 

Arviragus, dr.p. Son of Cymbeline. 
Cym. 

arts=man. A scholar. LLL. V, 1, 85. 

Ascanius. The son of ^neas by Creusa, 
daughter of Priam. Cupid assumed his 
shape in order to cause Dido to fall in 
love with ^neas. 2HVI. Ill, 2. 116. 

ases. The plural of as (that is of the 
word itself). Most modern eds. give 
as'es ; some, as-es ; Fl, assis. Ases of 
great c/iargre= reasons of great weight. 
Johnson suggests that there is a pun or 
quibble between as and ass (a beast of 
burden), but there does not seem to be 
the slightest ground for this. The mean- 
ing is obvious ; and quibbles, puns and 
jokes are entirely out of place in this 
most serious conversation between 
Hamlet and Horatio. 

Ascapart. A giant vanquished by Sir 
Bevis of Southampton. He was said to 
have been thirty feet high ; he was cov- 



ASC 



46 



ATA 



ered with bristles like a wild boar, and 
" liker a devil than a man. " 
His staff was a young oak, 
Hard and heavy was his stroke. 
2HVI. II, 3, 93. See Bp.vis. 

ascaunt. Aslant ; dia gonally ; across. In 
most editions, aslant ; evidently related 
to askance. Hml. IV, 7, 167. 

asinico. An ass ; a stupid fellow. Troil. 
II, 1, 49. From the Spanish asinico= 
a little ass. 

askance, vb. To cause to turn aside. 
Lucr. 637. 

askance, adv. Awry; with sidelong 
glance. V. and A. 342. 

aspect. Now always used as nearly sy- 
nonymous with ajoj^earance. Sh. uses 
it to express the act of looking, as in 
Err. II, 2, 113, where it means glances, 
looks. He also uses it in the astrologi- 
cal, as well as in the common sense : 
Heavens look with an asioect inore fa- 
vourable., Wint. II, 1, 107, referring to 
the position, etc. , of the planets. 

aspersion. Sprinkling; hence blessing, 
because before the reformation bene- 
diction was generally accompanied by 
the sprinkling of holy water. Tp. Ill, 
3, 18. 

aspicious. A blunder of Dogberry's for 
suspicious. Ado. Ill, 5, 50. 

aspire. Besides the ordinary meanings 
Sh. uses it as synonymous with ascend. 
Rom. Ill, 1, 122. 

aspray. The osprey, q.v. 

ass. In Lr. I, 4, 177, the reference is to 
the fable of the old man and his son 
who tried to please everybody, but 
pleased nobody, and lost their ass into 
the bargain. 

assay, n. Attempt ; test. Meas. Ill, 

1, 164. 

assay, vh. To attempt ; to make proof. 
Wiv. II, 1, 26. 

assemblance. The entu-ety; totality; 
aggregate. The "altogether," though 
not in the Trilby sense. 2HIV. Ill, 

2, 277. 

assigns. Appendages ; belongings. An 

affected expression. Hml. V, 2, 157. 
assinego. See asinico. 



assubjugate. To debase ; to lessen. Troil. 
II, 3, 202. 

assured. Betrothed ; affianced. Err. Ill, 
2, 145 ; John II, 1, 535. 

astronomer. The difference between the 
term astronomer and astrologer was not 
clearly defined in Sh. time. Astrono- 
mer was often employed where now we 
would use astrologer only, as in Troil. 
V, 1, 100. The same applies to " astron- 
omy. ' ' 

Assyrian knight. A bombastic and mean- 
ingless expression, used by Falstaff in 
ridicule of Pistol. 2HVI. V, 3, 105. 

Atalanta. There are two accounts of the 
bii'th and life of Atalanta, but the one 
most commonly received is as follows : 
She was the daughter of Jason and 
Clymene. Her father had hoped for a 
son, and in his disappointment exposed 
her on the Parthenian (virgin) hill. 
She was suckled by a she-bear, the sym- 
bol of Artemis (Diana), the protectress 
of the young. She lived in pure maiden- 
hoodj slew the centaurs who pursued 
her, took part in the Calydonian hunt 
and in games. Her father ultimately 
recognised her and wished her to mar- 
ry; but as the Delphic oracle had de- 
clared that marriage would be fatal to 
her she imposed such conditions on her 
suitors as none would care to meet. 
These were that her suitor should con- 
tend with her in a foot-race ; if suc- 
cessful he would gain her, but if un- 
successful she was to put him to death. 
One suitor, Meilanon, being favored by 
Aphrodite, received from this goddess 
three golden apples which he dropped 
one after the other as he ran. Atalanta 
stopped to pick them up and lost the 
race. She and her husband having, by 
their embraces, profaned the sanctity of 
the sacred grove of Zeus, were changed 
to two lions, and thus the oracle was 
vindicated. 

The passage in As. Ill, 2, 155, Ata- 
lanta''s better part., has puzzled the 
commentators. Purness fills over three 
closely printed pages with the com- 
ments that have been written upon it. 



ATE 



47 



ATJR 



His own summing up is most probably 
correct. He says: " Nature's distilla- 
tion resulted in Helen's face, Cleo- 
patra's bearing, Atalanta's form and 
Lucretia's modesty." Some have said 
that her better part was her heels ; but 
this does not apply to Rosalind. Others, 
that it was her chastity ; but this is as- 
signed to Lucretia. 
Ate. The goddess of mischief and strife. 
Craik says: "This Homeric goddess 
had taken a strong hold of Sh. imagin- 
ation." See Ado. II, 1, 264; LLL. V, 

2, 694 ; Cses. Ill, 2, 271. 

According to Homer she was the 
daughter of Jupiter ; Hesiod says she 
was the daughter of Eris (strife). Ju- 
piter having been led by her to make a 
rash promise to Juno was so enraged 
at the result that he hurled her down 
from heaven, and since then she has 
been making mischief amongst men. 
See Hercules. 

Atlas. A giant who, with the other Ti- 
tans, made war upon Jupiter, and was 
condemned to support the heavens upon 
his hands and head. 3HVI. V, 1, 36. 
See Hercules and demi-Atlas. 

attend. To watch for ; to wait for. 
Sonn. XLIV, 12 ; Wiv. I, 1, 279 ; Kins. 
IV, 1. 

atomy. An atom ; the smallest particle 
of matter. As. Ill, 2, 245 ; Rom. I, 4, 57. 
Mrs. Quickly uses it by mistake for 
anatomy (skeleton) as applied to a very 
thin person; not as in contempt of a 
small person, as the Globe glossary 
has it. 2HIV. V, 4, 33. 

atone. 1. To reconcile. 0th. IV, 1, 224. 
2. To agree. As. V, 4, 116; Cor. IV, 
6, 72. 

Atropos. One of the Parcae or Fates. 
2HIV. II, 4, 213. See Fates. 

attack. To sieze ; to lay hold of. Tp. Ill, 

3, 5 ; LLL. IV, 3, 375. 

attaint. Stain; disgrace. Err. Ill, 2, 

16 ; Lucr. 825. 
attask. To reprehend ; to take to task. 

Lr. I, 4, 366. 
attend. To watch for ; to wait for. Sonn. 

XLIV, 12; Wiv. I, 1, 279; Kins. IV, 1. 



attent. Attentive. Hml. I. 2, 193. 

attorney. A substitute ; an agent. As. 
IV, 1,94; RIIL V, 3, 83. 

attorney ed. 1. Employed as an agent. 
Meas. V, 1, 390. 
2. Performed by proxy. Wint. I, 1, 30. 

auburn. The color which is now known 
as auburn is a reddish brown with a 
tinge of "old gold." In Sh. time it 
meant flaxen or whitish colored, Plorio, 
in his " New World of Words " (1611), 
defines alburne as : " That whitish color 
of woman's hair which we call an al- 
burne or aburne color." The word oc- 
curs but once in the Fl, in Gent. IV, 4, 
194, and is there spelled ahurne. See 
abram. 

audacious. Spirited ; daring (but with no 
sense of evil). LLL. V, 1, 5. 

In many other passages the word 
bears an intimation of evil. 

Audrey, dr. p. A country girl. As. 

The name is a contraction for Ethel- 
dreda. See tawdry. 

Aufidius, Tullus, dr.p. General of the 
Volscians. Cor. 

augur. Augury. Mcb. Ill, 4, 126. 

auld. The Scottish or old English form of 
old. 0th. II, 3, 99. 

Dr. Schmidt, in his " Shakespeare 
Lexicon," calls it " the vulgar form " ! 

Aumerle, Duke of, dr.p. Son of the 
Duke of York. RII. 

aunt. 1. A good old dame. Mids. II, 1, 51. 

2. A loose woman. Wint. IV, 2, 11. 

3. The aunt of Hector and his brothers, 
whom the Greeks held, was Priam's 
sister, Hesione, whom Hercules, being 
enraged at Priam's breach of faith, 
gave to Teiamon, who by her had Ajax. 
Troil. II, 2, 77. 

Aurora. The goddess of the morning red. 
Known to the Greeks as Eos. At the 
close of every night she rose from the 
couch of her spouse, Tithonus, and on 
a chariot drawn by the swift horses 
Lampus and Phaeton she ascended up 
to heaven from the river Oceanus, to 
announce the coming Hght of the sun 
to the gods as well as to mortals. She 
carried off several youths distinguished 



ATJT 



48 



BAB 



for their beauty, such as Orion, Cepha- 
lus and Tithonus. Mids. Ill, 2, 380; 
Rom. I, 1, 142. See morning'' s love. 

authentic. Of acknowledged authority. 
Wiv. II, 2, 235. 

Autolycus, dr. p. A pedlar and rogue. 
Wint. 

The Autolycus of the Greek legend 
was the son of Mercury and the mater- 
nal grandfather of Ulysses. He was a 
robber who lived on Mount Parnassus, 
and was famed for his cunning. In 
Golding's translation of Ovid's "Meta- 
morphoses," from which undoubtedly 
Sh. took the name, he is thus described : 

Now when she [i.e. Chione] full her time had 
gon, she bare by Mercurye 

A Sonne that hight Awtolychus, who proude 
a wily pye, 

And such a fellow as in theft and filching 
had no peere ; 

He was his fathers owne sonne right ; he 
could mens eyes so bleare 

As for to make the blacke things white, and 
white things blacke appeare. 
See Mercury. 

Auvergne, Countess of, dr.j). IHVI. 

Ave. Latin for Hail! acclamation. 
Meas. I, 1, 71. 

Ave Mary. The angelic salutation ad- 
dressed to the Virgin Mary. The Ro- 



man Catholics divide their chaplets 
into a certain number of Ave Maries 
and Paternosters. 2HVI. I, 3, 59; 
3HVI. II, 2, 162. 

averring. Confirming ; alleging. Cym. 
V, 5, 203. 

avoid. Leave ; go away. HVIII. V, 1, 
86 ; Cor. IV, 5, 25. 

aweless. 1. Standing in awe or in fear 
of nothing. John, I, 1, 226. 
2. Not regarded with awe or rever- 
ence. RIII. II, 4, 52. 

awful. Reverential, awful ?7xew=men 
who reverence or stand in awe of the 
laws and usages of society. Gent. IV, 
1, 86; RIL 111,3, 76, etc. 

The expression "awful banks," in 
2HI V. IV, 1, 176, has given rise to much 
discussion. Johnson makes it "proper 
limits of reverence ; ' ' War burton had 
changed aivful to latvful. 

awkward. 1. Distorted ; ill-founded. 
HV. II, 4, 85. 

2. Adverse. 2HVI. Ill, 2, 83 ; Per. V, 
1,94. 

ay, 1^ Yes. Generally spelled I in old 

aye. ) editions, and this has given occa 
sion for a great many puns. 

ayworde Said to be improperly written 
for yiayword, q.v. Tw. II, 3, 146. 




The second letter of the al- 
phabet. Fair as a text B in 
a copyhook. LLL. V, 2. 42. 
The letter jB seems to be a fa- 
vorite for comparisons. The Princess 
has just said of Rosaline, Beauteous as 
ink, the black color of which is opposed 
to fair. Upon this exchange of wits Ma- 
son makes the following remarks : ' 'Ros- 
aline says that Biron had drawn her 
picture in his letter; and afterwards, 
playing on the word letter., Katherine 
compares her to a text B. Rosaline in 
reply advises her to beware of pencils, 



that is, of drawing likenesses, lest she 
should retaliate, which she afterwards 
does by comparing her to a red domini- 
cal letter and calling her marks of the 
small-pox O'^s.'''' See dominical. 
Babian, / g^^ Bavian. 
Babion. ) 

baby. The usual term for a very young 
child. Sometimes applied to images, 
as aglet'baby q.v. As used by Sh. in 
Mcb. Ill, 4, 103 : 
If trembling I inhabit then, protest me 
The baby of a girl. 
The word is usually said to mean a 



BAC 



49 



BAF 



doll. We doubt the correctness of this 
interpretation. A doll does not tremble 
or exhibit f eaf . The literal sense is far 
more forceful; "the baby of a girl," 
that is, the child of an immature female 
who is incapable of bringing forth 
sturdy progeny like that of a fully de- 
veloped woman, and whose infant is 
therefore doubly a baby. 
The lines in Tim. I, 2, 11(3 : 
Joy had the like conception in our eyes 
And, at that instant, like a babe sprung 
up, 
are thus explained by Nares : "The 
miniature reflection of himself which a 
person sees in the pupil of another's 
eye, on looking closely into it, was 
sportively called by our ancestors a 
little boy or baby, and made the subject 
of many amorous allusions. . . As 
it requires a very near approach to 
discern these little images, poets make 
it an employment of lovers to look for 
them in each other's eyes." Johnson 
explains it as "a weeping babe." This 
does not seem as forcible. 

baccare. A cant word, meaning go back, 
used in allusion to a proverbial saying, 
" Backare, quoth Mortimer to his sow ;" 
probably made in ridicule of some man 
who affected a knowledge of Latin 
without having it, and who produced 
his Latinized English words on the 
most trivial occasions. Nares. Shr. 
II, 1, 73. 

Bacchus. The god of wine. The son of 
Zeus or Jupiter and Semele. Festivals 
known as Dionysia, from his Greek 
name Dionysus, were held in his honor, 
and on these occasions his priestesses, 
called Mcenads or Bacchantes, worked 
themselves up into a state of frenzy by 
wine and other means, and wandered 
about the country carrying thyi'si and 
behaving in a wild and licentious 
manner. The thyrsus was a staff en- 
twined with vine leaves and surmounted 
with pine cones. Bacchus was the 
original cultivator of the vine and the 
discoverer of wine. Among the women 
who won his love none is more famous 



in ancient history than Ariadne, for 
whose story see Ariadne. LLL. IV, 3, 
339, 

back=friend. A bailiff ; so called because 
he generally comes behind his victim 
when he makes an arrest. Err. IV, 
2. 37. 

bac k-=s wordsman . A single-stick player. 
2HIV. Ill, 2, 71. 

backward. That which lies behind ; the 
past. Tp. I, 2, 50. 

backward, adv. Perversely. She would 
spell hhn backward=in.8Lke his virtues 
appear vices. Ado. Ill, 1, 61. 

back=trick. A caper backwards in danc- 
ing. Tw. I, 8, 133. 

Schmidt suggests "the trick of going 
back in a fight," but nothing had yet 
been said to Sir A. about fighting. 

bacon. A country fellow, bacon being a 
staple article of food in the country. 
IHIV. II, 2, 95. 

For some fatuous but amusing lucu- 
brations on this word, after the manner 
of Sergeant Buzfuz, see the "Great 
Cryptogram," by Ignatius Donnelly. 
In this work the author brings forward 
" bacon," used as the designation of a 
man, as being unknown elsewhere, and 
therefore manufactured by Lord Bacon 
for the purpose of bringing his name 
into the cipher ! 

bacon^fed. Country-bred. 2HIV. II, 2, 
88. 

The modern form is chaw-bacon, a 
very common expression in England. 
One of the illustrations etched by Cruik- 
shank for Bentley's Miscellany was 
that of ' ' Giles Chaw-bacon. ' ' In Frank 
Forester's Warwick Woodlands, a 
country boy is called "a chaw-bacon." 
Bacon -fed is also slang for "fat, 
greasy." See " Slang Dictionary." 

badged. Marked as with a badge. Mcb. 
II, 3, 107 ; cf. 2HVI. Ill, 2, 200. 

baffle. To use contemptuously. 2HIV. 
V, 3, 109; RII, I, 1, 170; IHIV. I, 2, 
113. 

Nares tells us that baffling was 
originally a punishment of infamy, in- 
flicted on recreant knights, one part of 



BAO 



50 



BAN 



which was hanging them up by the 
heels. The word was also applied to 
any contemptuous usage, as in Tw. V, 
1, 337. 

Bagot, dr.p. Favorite of Richard II. 
RII. 

bailie. See hallow. 

bait. To feed or take refreshment. The 
word in this sense is quite old and 
occurs in Spenser's, " Fairy Queen," I, 
XII, 35. Only once in Sh. HVIII, V, 
4, 85. But the word in all its significa- 
tions is only a form of the word bite ; 
thus, to bait {i.e., to take refreshment) 
is to bite ; to bait a bear is to make the 
dogs bite him ; to bait fish is to induce 
them to bite. In these latter senses 
it occurs quite often. Err. II, 1, 94 ; 
Tw. Ill, 1, 130 ; 2HVI. V, 1, 148. 

baked-meats. Meat-pies, pastry; not 
merely meat or flesh baked in an oven. 
Rom. IV, 4, 5 ; Hml. I, 2, 180. 

You speak as if a man 
Should know what fowl is coffin''d in a 

bak'd meat 
Afore it is cut up. 

White Devil (Old Play). 

baker. See owl. 

Bajazet's mule. This passage (All's. IV, 

1, 46) has given great trouble to the 
commentators. Warburton says that we 
should read mute., and refers to HV. I, 

2, 232, for the expression Turkish mute. 
Reed refers to a so-called philosopher 
who undertook to teach a mule to speak. 
There is a Scotch story to the effect 
that a certain charlatan undertook to 
teach a mule to speak in ten years, and 
agreed with the king that if he did not 
succeed his life would be the forfeit. 
When his friends charged him with 
being a fool for incurring the risk of 
certain death, he replied : " Not so ; the 
king may die, or the mule may die, or 
I may die myself, so that I have three 
good chances for escape, and in the 
meantime I live like a prince." But 
all this does not explain ParoUes' saying. 
His tongue had brought him into trouble 
by giving utterance to certain boasts, 
the meaning of which was obvious. 



He will therefore exchange his tongue 
for a mule's tongue which utters much 
noise without any meaning at all. 
bald. Naked; bare. Cor. Ill, 1, 164. 
Hence, by inference, senseless ; empty. 
IHIV. I, 3, 65. 

baldrick. A belt. Ado. I, 1, 252. 

bale. Evil ; mischief. Cor. I, 1, 169. 

balk. To balk logic=to dispute ; to chop 
logic. Shr. I, 1, 34. 

balk'd. Heaped up in balks or ridges. 
IHIV. I, 1, 69. This word seems to 
have puzzled the commentators. R. G. 
White thinks it a misprint for bark''d, 
the sense of which is not obvious. 
Others have suggested bak''d and bathed. 
The word, like many others in Sh., is 
Scottish or old English. See Jamieson's 
Dictionary. 

ballow. A cudgell. Lr. IV, 6, 237. 

The word bailie which occurs in the 
accepted text in Wiv. I, 4, 92, is ballow 
in Fl, and is pronounced unintelligible 
by Schm. Ballow is undoubtedly a cor- 
ruption of the French word baillez, 
the imperative of bailler, which signi- 
fies to give. 

balm, n. The oil of consecration. RII. 
Ill, 2, 55. Juice of balm. Wiv. V, 5, 
66. It was a feature of our ancient 
luxury to rub tables, chairs, etc., with 
aromatic herbs. The Romans did the 
same to drive away evil spirits. 

balm, V. 1. To anoint. Shr. Ind, I. 48. 
2. To heal. Lr. Ill, 6, 105. 

Balthasar, dr.p. Servant to Portia. 
Merch. 

Balthasar, dr.p. Servant to Don Pedro. 
Ado. 

Balthasar, dr.p. Servant to Romeo. 
Rom. 

Balthazar, dr.p. A merchant. Err. 

ban. To curse. Lucr. 1460. 

Banbury cheese. A gibe at Slender's 
thinness — Banbury cheese being pro- 
verbially thin. Steevens quotes from 
" Jack Drum's Entertainment " : " Put 
off your clothes, and you are like a 
Banbury cheese — nothing but paring." 
Wiv. I. 1, 130. 

band. Bond ; security. 2HIV. I, 2, 37. 



BAN 



51 



BAB 



ban=dogs. Watch dogs, so called from 
their being bound up or chained. 2H VI . 
I, 4, 21. 

bandy. To fight ; to contend ; a metaphor 
taken from striking the balls at tennis. 
As. V, 1, 62 ; Rom. II, 5, 14. 

banquet. Dessert. Shr. V, 2, 9 ; Rom. 
I, 5, 126. _ 

bank'd. Sailed past their towns on the 
banks of the river. The idea taken from 
the old play, " The Troublesome Raigne 
of King John. " Dyce. John V, 2, 104. 

Banquo, dr. p. A Scottish general. Mcb. 

Baptista Minola, dr.p. A rich gentle- 
man of Padua. Shr. 

Barbason. The name of one of the fiends 
in the old demonology. Wiv. II, 2, 315. 

barbed. Protected by armour (said of a 
horse). RII. Ill, 3, 117. 

barber. To shave and dress the nair ; to 
dress up generally. Ant. II, 2, 229. 

Bardolph, dr.p. A follower of Falstaff, 
who appears in Wiv., in First and Sec- 
ond HIV. and in HV., where he was a 
soldier and was hung for stealing. 

Bardolph, Lord, dr.p. An enemy to the 
king. 2HIV. 

bare. To shave. Meas. IV, 2, 188 ; Alls. 
IV, 1, 54. 

bare=foot, to dance. It was a popular 
notion that unless the elder sisters danced 
bare-foot at the marriage of a younger 
one they would inevitably become old 
maids. Shr. II, 1, 34. See ape. 

barful. Full of impediments. Tw. I, 4, 41. 

bargain, to sell a. To make one ridicu- 
lous. LLL. Ill, 1, 102. Capel tells us 
that "selling a bargain" consists in 
drawing a person in, by some stratagem, 
to proclaim himself a fool by his own 
lips. Thus, 'When Moth makes his master 
repeat the Peiivoy, ending in the goose, 
he makes him proclaim himself a goose, 
according to rustic wit, and this Cos- 
tard calls selling a bargain well. 

barley=break. An ancient rural game. 
Kins. IV, 3. It was thus described by 
Gifiiord : " It was played by six people, 
three of each sex, who were coupled by 
lot. A piece of ground was then chosen 
and divided into three compartments. 



of which the middle one was called hell. 
It was the object of the couple con- 
demned to this division to catch the 
others, who advanced from the two ex- 
tremities, in which case a change of 
situation took place and hell was fiUed 
by the couple who were excluded by 
pre-occupation from the other places; 
in this catching, however, there was 
some difiiculty, as by the regulations of 
the game the middle couple were not to 
separate before they had succeeded, 
while the others might break hands 
whenever they found themselves hard 
pressed. When all had been taken in 
turn, the last couple were said to be in 
hell, and the game ended." The game 
is often referred to by the early Enghsh 
dramatists. There is another form of 
the game played in Scotland and the 
north of England and described by Dr. 
Jamieson in his "Etymological Diction- 
ary of the Scottish Language." 
barm. Yeast. Mids. II, 1, 38. 
barnacle. A kind of shell-fish {Lepas 
anatifera) from which it was fabled 
that the barnacle goose was produced. 
Tp. IV, 1, 249. 
Barnardine, dr.p. A dissolute prisoner. 

Meas. 
barne. A child. A word still used in 
Scotland, generally in the modified form 
bairn. Alls. I, 3, 28. Wint. Ill, 3, 70. 
Also Ado. Ill, 4, 49, where there is a 
pun on barns (farm buUdings) and 
barnes (children). 
Barrabas. The robber whom the Jews 
chose before Jesus. John's Gospel, 
XVIII, 40; Mercfh. IV, 1, 296. Sh. 
took his spelling of the name from the 
old version of the New Testament. 
Bartholomew=pig. Roasted pigs were at 
one time among the chief attractions of 
Bartholomew Fair, London. They were 
displayed in booths and on stalls to 
excite the appetite of passers-by and 
were sold piping hot. Falstaff, in ridi- 
cule of his rotund, greasy figure, is 
called a "little tidy Bartholomew 
boar-pig." 2HIV. II, 4, 250. Johnson 
says that it was "a little pig made of 



\ 



BAS 



52 



BAV 



paste [dough?], sold at Bartholomew 
Fair, and given to children for their 
fairing." 

base. A game, sometimes called prisoner's 
base. Cym. V. 3, 20. 

base=court. The lower court in a castle 
(French basse-cour). RII. Ill, 3, 182. 

bases. A kind of embroidered mantle 
which hung down from the middle to 
about the knees, or lower, worn by 
knights on horseback. Nares. Per. II, 

I, 167. 

baseness. Illegitimacy; bastardy. Wint. 

II, 3, 78. See forced. 
Basilisco=like. This term alludes to a 

stupid play, printed in 1599, called 
" Soliman and Perseda." One of the 
characters is Basilisco, who is a coward- 
ly, bragging knight. Piston, a buffoon 
servant in the play, jumps on his back 
and makes him swear to certain terms. 
The dialogue is as follows : 
Bas. O, I swear, I swear. 
Pist. By the contents of this blade — 
Bas. By the contents of this blade — 
Pist. I, the aforesaid Basilisco — 
Bas. I, the aforesaid Basilisco — knight, 
good fellow, knight, knight— 

Pist. Knave, good fellow, knave, knave — 
The play, though a wretched produc- 
tion, was at one time very popular. It 
has been attributed to Kyd. 

basilisk. 1 . A kind of ordnance or canon. 
IHIV. II, 3, 56. 

2. A fabulous serpent said to kill by its 
look. Wint. I, 2, 388. 

Bassanio, dr.p. A friend of Antonio, 
q.v. Merch. 

Basset, dr.p. Of the Red Rose faction. 
IHVI. 

Bassianus, dr.p. Brother of Saturninus. 
Tit. 

basta. Enough (from the Italian). Shr. 
I, 1, 203. 

bastard. A sweet Spanish wine. Meas. 
Ill, 2, 4. 

Bastard of Orleans, dr.p. IHVI. 

batch. A portion ; a lot. Troil. V, 1, 5. 
Not necessarily baked bread as Schm. 
gives it. ' ' Crusty ' ' in this connection 
has no reference to crust (as of bread), 
but is a variant of curst= ill-tempered. 



bate, n. A quarrel. 2HIV. II, 4, 271. 

bate, V. 1. To blunt. LLL. I, 1, 6. 
2. A term in falconry meaning to flutter 
the wings as after bathing or when 
eager for food or prey. It is therefore 
freely used by old writers to signify 
eagerness, as in Rom. Ill, 2, 14 ; Shr. 
IV, 1, 199. In HV. Ill, 7, 122, there is 
a quibble between bate as defined above 
and bate in the sense of diminishing. 

Bates, dr.p. A soldier. HV. 

bateless. Not to be blunted or dulled. 
Lucr. 9. 

bat=f owling. A method of catching birds 
on dark nights by means of torches. 
The birds, being roused from their roost, 
fly towards the lights and are caught 
Mdth nets or knocked down with poles. 
Tp. II, 1, 185. 

batlet. A little bat used by washer- 
women. As. II, 4, 49. 

batten. To feed grossly ; to fatten, Hml. 
Ill, 4, 67. 

battery. Assault; a series of strokes. 
Ant. IV, 14, 39. 

battle. 1. An army. John, IV, 2, 78 ; 
IHIV. IV, 1, 129. 
2. A division of an army. 3HVI. 1, 1, 8 ; 
Mcb. V, 6, 4. 

batty. Like a bat. Mids. Ill, 2, 365. 

bauble. The licensed fool's or jester's 
" ofiicial sceptre or bauble, which was 
a short stick ornamented at the end 
with a figure of a fool's head, or some- 
times with that of a doll or puppet. 
* * * Aaron [Tit. V, 1, 79,] refers to 
that sort of bauble or scepter which was 
usually carried by natural idiots and 
allowed jesters, and by which it maybe 
supposed that they sometimes swore. " — 
DoxLce. • 

Bavian, The. An occasional, but not a 
regular character in the old Morris 
dance. He was dressed up as a baboon, 
and his office was to bark, tumble, play 
antics, and exhibit a long tail with what 
decency he could. The word is from the 
Dutch baviaan, a baboon. Kins. Ill, 5. 

bavin. A bundle or faggot of brushwood ; 
sometimes refers to the brushwood it- 
self, as IHIV. Ill, 2, 61. 



BAW 



53 



BEL 



bawcock. A fine fellow ; a term of coarse 
endearment. From the French beau 
and coq. Tw. Ill, 4, 125 ; HV. Ill, 2, 26. 

bay. The space between the main timbers 
of the roof. Meas. II, 1, 255. 

The folios have it bay, but Pope sug- 
gested day, which is no doubt correct. 
We have no reason to believe that 
houses were rented at so much per bay, 
which is but one point in the value of a 
dwelling. It certainly is quite as likely 
that the rate of the rent of ' ' the fairest 
house" in Vienna would be stated in 
days as in mere size. 

beadsman, [ One who repeats prayers 

bedesman, j for another. Gent. 1, 1, 18 ; 
RII. Ill, 2, 116. 

bean^fed. ^ee filly. 

bearing cloth. A rich cloth in which 
children were wrapped at their christen- 
ing. Wint. Ill, 3, 119. 

bear. 1. A well-known animal. The bear 
and the ragged staff were the cog- 
nizance of the Nevils, Earls of War- 
wick; hence the allusion in 2HVI. V, 
1, 144. 

2. The constellation (Ursa Major) known 
as " The Dipper," etc. 0th. II, 1, 14. 

bear in hand. To keep in expectation ; 
to amuse with false pretences. Meas. 
I, 4, 51 ; Mcb. Ill, 1, 81 ; Gym. V, 5, 43. 

bear a brain. To have a good memory. 
Rom. I, 3, 29. 

bear=whelp, unliclc'd. It was an old 
opinion that "the bear brings forth 
only shapeless lumps of animated flesh 
which she licks into the form of bears. " 
—Johnson. HVI. Ill, 2, 161. 

bear me hard. Evidently an old phrase 
=does not like me ; bears me a grudge. 
CYaik. Caes. I, 2, 317 ; Caes. Ill, 1, 157. 

beat. To flutter as a falcon ; to meditate ; 
to consider earnestly. Tp. I, 2, 176. 

Beatrice, cb\p. Niece of Leonato. Ado. 

Beau, Le, dr. p. A courtier. As. 

Beaufort, Henry, dr.p. Bishop of Win- 
chester. IHVI. 

Beaufort, Cardinal, dr.p. Bishop of 
Winchester. 2HVI. 

Beaufort, John, dr.p. Earl, afterwards 
Duke of Somerset. IHVl. 



Beaufort, Thomas, dr.p. Duke of Exeter, 
Governor of Harfleur. HV. and IHVI. 

beautified. Beautiful. Hml. II, 2, 110. 
This word, as used in this sense, is called 
"by Sh. (through Polonius) "a vile 
phrase," but it was in use by the best 
writers immediately preceding Sh. 
time. Query : Did Sh. give it the 
modern meaning of wacZe beautiful i 
If so, it is indeed a vile phrase when 
applied to a young woman. 

beaver. The visor of a helmet. It may 
be raised to give the wearer an oppor- 
tunity of taking breath when oppressed 
with heat, or, without putting off the 
helmet, of taking his repast. 2HIV. 

IV, 1. 120; Hml. 1,2,230. 

Bedford, Duke of, dr.p. Brother of Henry 

V. HV. 

Bedford, Duke of, dr.p. Regent of France ; 
brother of Henry V. IHVI. 

bedded. Lying flat, Schm. ; matted, Clark 
and Wright. Hml. Ill, 4, 121. 

bedlam. A corruption of Bethlehem. 
The hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, 
in London (originally a priory), was 
used as an asylum for lunatics, and the 
patients when discharged as cured, 
though perhaps only partially cured, 
were licensed to beg. They wore on 
the left arm an armilla or badge of tin 
about four inches long and were known 
as bedlam beggars. Jack or Tom o' 
Bedlam. Lr. I, 2, 148; 2HVI, III, 1, 
51. Hence ftecZZam =lunatic. John, II, 
1, 183. 

bed=swerver. One who is false to the 
marriage bed. Wint. II, 1, 93. 

beef=witted. Having an inactive brain, 
thought to be caused by eating too 
much. Troil. II, 1, 14 ; cf. Tw. I, 3, 
90 and Cses. I, 2, 194. 

beetle. A kind of mallet. 2HIV. I, 2, 
25.5. A three-man beefle=a, beetle so 
heavy that it takes three men to handle 
it. &iee fillip. 

befortune. To happen to ; to fall to 
one's lot. Gent. IV, 3, 41. 

bed. See Ware. 

Beelzebub, | In the New Testament 

Belzebub. ) Beelzebub is called the 



BEG 



54 



BEM 



' ' prince of the devils. ' ' In the language 
of the Philistines the name has been sup- 
posed to signify either the god of hosts 
or the god of heaven. The Jews, who 
delighted in disfiguring the names of 
false gods by a play upon words, called 
him in derision the dung-god or god of 
flies. Tw. V, 1. 291 ; HV. IV, 7, 145 ; 
Mcb. II, 3, 4. 
beg. In LLL. V, 2, 490, the expression 
you cannot beg us means that you can- 
not apply to be our guardian. In the 
old common law was a writ de idiota 
inquirendo, under which, if a man was 
legally proved an idiot, the profit of his 
lands and the custody of his person 
might be granted by the king to any 
subject. Such a person, when this 
grant was asked, was said to be begged 
for a fool. One of the legal tests of a 
natural or fool was to try whether he 
could number, and this is illustrated in 
the play. See fool-begged. 
behaviour. This word has a peculiar 
sense in John, I, 1, 3 : 

Thus, after greeting, speaks the king of 

France 
In my behaviour. 

Johnson explains it as: "The King 
of France speaks in the character which 
I here assume." Fleay says: "Not 
only in my words, but in my bearing 
and manner — my assumption of super- 
iority." 

being, n. Dwelling. Cym. I, 6, 54. 

being, adv. When. Ado. V, 1, 61. 

being, vb. The passage, Ant. Ill, 6, 29 : 
A7id, being, that ive detain All his 
revenue — evidently means that "he 
being deposed, that we retain, etc." 

Bel. The god of the Chaldaeans. Ado. 
Ill, 3, 144. 

The word Bel signifies Lord, and Bel 
was one of the highest of the Babylonian 
deities. To him was attributed the crea- 
tion of the world and the gift of healing 
diseases. He was supposed to eat and 
drink like a human being, and the 
apocryphal book of Daniel relates his 
detection of the cheat of Bel's priests, 
who came every night through private 



doors, to eat what was offered to their 
deity. 
Belarius, dr. p. A banished lord; dis- 
guised under the name of Morgan. Cym. 
Belch, Sir Toby, dr.p. Uncle of Olivia. 

Tw. 
be=Iee'd. One vessel is said to be in the 
lee of another when it is so placed that 
the wind is intercepted from it. lago's 
meaning, therefore, is that Cassio had 
got the wind of him and be-calmed him 
from gaining promotion. 0th. I, 1, 30. 
bell. Bells were attached to hawks by 
the falconers. They served various pur- 
poses, amongst others, to frighten game- 
birds. Hence the allusions in Lucr. 
511 ; 3HVI. I, 1, 47. 
bell, book, and candle. "In the solemn 
form of excommunication used in the 
Romish Church, the bell was tolled ; the 
book of offices for the purpose used ; and 
three candles extinguished with certain 
ceremonies." Nares. John, III, 3, 12. 
Bellona. The goddess of war. By Bel- 
lona'^s &Hc?egrroo97x Macbeth is, of course, 
meant. Mcb. I, 2, 54. 

It is very probable that Bellona was 
originally a Sabine deity. She is fre- 
quently mentioned by the Roman poets 
as the companion .of Mars, or even as 
his sister or his wife. Her temple became 
of political importance, for in it the 
senate assembled to give audience to 
foreign ambassadors. In front of the 
entrance to the temple stood a pillar 
which served for making the symbolical 
declarations of war, the area of the 
temple being regarded as a symbolical 
representation of the enemies of the 
country, and the pillar as that of the 
frontier. The declaration of war was 
made by launching a spear over the 
pillar. 
belly = pinched. Starved ; hungry. Lr. 

Ill, 1, 13. 
belly=doublet. A doublet made very long 
in front, and usually stuffed or bom- 
basted so as to project considerably in 
front. LLL. Ill, 1, 19. 
Belzebub. See Beelzebub. 
be=mete. To measure. Shr. IV, 3, 113. 



BEM 



55 



BES 



bemoil. To bemire ; to daub with dirt. 
Shr. IV, 1, 77. 

bending. The expression, our bending 
author (HV. Epilogue, 2) means : un- 
equal to the tveight of his subject and 
bending beneath it. Or he may mean, 
as in Hml. Ill, 2, 160: "Here stooping 
to your clemency. " Steevens, Probably 
the first. 

bends. The passage in Ant. II, 2, 213 : 
and made their bends adornings, has 
given rise to endless conjecture as to its 
meaning. The Variorum of 1821 con- 
tains six pages of comment upon it, and 
there has probably been more than 
that offered since. Pi-ofessor Rolfe 
gives the following as the most accept- 
able interpretation : ' ' The part of 
North's account [in his translation of 
Plutarch] which corresponds to made 
their bends adornings seems to be the 
statement that the gentlewomen were 
apparelled ' like the Graces ;' and this 
might suggest a reference to grace in 
their movements. We believe that in 
all that has been written on the passage 
no one has called attention to the very 
close paraphrase of North which Sh. 
gives: 'Her ladies and gentlewomen 
* * * were apparelled like the Nymphs 
-Nereids {which are the mermaids of the 
waters) and' — after getting so far we 
have only to seek a parallel for 'like 
the Graces ;' and may we not find it in 
made their bends adornings f — made 
their very obeisance, as they tended 
her, like that of the Graces waiting on 
Venus." 

Benedick, dr. p. A young lord of Padua. 
Ado. 

The term Benedict is used to signify a 
married man, and the Century, Stand- 
ard, and other large dictionaries tell us 
that it is derived from this character in 
Ado. Brewer (" Phrase and Fable ") has 
the following : "A married man, from 
the Latin benedictus (a happy man) and a 
skit on the order of St. Benedict, famous 
for their ascetic habits, and, of course, 
rigidly bound to celibacy. Sh. , in Ado. , 
avails himself of this joke in making 



Benedick, the young lord of Padua, rail 
against marriage, but afterwards marry 
Beatrice, with whom he falls in love. " 
So that whether Sh. took the idea from 
a common joke or the joke originated 
with Sh. seems to be a question to be 
settled. " Benedick is an easy form of 
Benedict. ' ' — Century Dictionary. 
Bennet. A contraction of Benedict. The 
Church of St. Benedick, or Bennet, was 
at Paul's Wharf, London. It was des- 
troyed in the great fire of 1666. Tw. V, 
1,42. 
bent. A term used by Sh. for the utmost 
degree of any passion or mental quality. 
The expression is derived from archery. 
The bow has its bent when it is drawn 
as far as it can be. Johnson. 
bent brow. Frowning brow. IHVI. V, 

8, 34 ; 3HVI. V, 2, 19 ; Kins. Ill, 1. 
Benedictus. See Carduus. 
ben venuto. {Ital.) Welcome. LLL. IV, 

2, 164. Shr. I, 2, 282. 
Benvolio, dr. p. A friend of Romeo. 

Rom. 
bergomask. A rustic dance framed in 
imitation of the people of Bergomasco 
(a province in the State of Venice), who 
are ridiculed as being more clownish in 
their manners and dialect than any 
people in Italy. All the Italian buffoons 
imitate them. Nares. Mids. V, 1, 360. 
Berkeley, Earl, dr.p. RII. 
Bermoothes. This is the Spanish pronun- 
ciation of Bermudas. "The islands 
are called ' still- vexed, ' that is, con- 
stantly, always vexed by tempests, from 
the accounts of them which early voy- 
agers brought home, and which were 
so unvarying in their character that, 
as Hunter says, the Bermudas became 
a commonplace in Sh. time whenever 
storms and tempests were the theme." 
Furness. Tp. I, 2, 229. 
Bernardo, dr.p. An officer. Hml. 
Bertram, cZr.p. Count of Rousillon. Alls. 
beslabber. To besmear. IHIV. II, 4, 

244. 
besort, n. Suitable surroundinjfirs. Pth. 

I, 3, 239. 
besort, v. To suit. Lr. I, 4, 273. 



BES 



56 



BIB 



Bessy. Malone tells us that there is a 
peculiar propriety in the address of 
Mad Tom to Bessy — Mad Tom and Mad 
Bessy being usually companions. " Bess 
of Bedlam" was a character as well 
known among the vagrants of the day 
as "Tom o' Bedlam." Lr. Ill, 6, 27. 
See bedlam. 

bested. Another form of bestead. Placed; 
situated. Worse bested = placed in 
worse circumstances. 2HVI. II, 3, 56. 

bestraught. Distraught ; distracted. Shr. 
Ind. II, 26. 

beteem. l. To pour out. Mids. 1, 1, 131. 
2. To allow. Hml. I, 2, 141. 

betid. Happened. Tp. I, 2, 31. 

Bevis, Sir, of Southampton. Referred 
to in HVIII. I, 1, 38. Also in the old 
qu. ed. of 2HVI, II, 3, 93, though the 
passage, as Bevis of Southampton fell 
upon Ascapart, is omitted from the 
accepted text. Bevis was a Saxon whom 
Wilham the Conqueror is said to have 
created Earl of Southampton. 

bezonian. A needy fellow. From Ital. 
hesogno, or French besoin. Cot. thus 
explains the old French bisongne ; " A 
filthie knave or clown, a raskall, bis- 
onian, base humored scoundrell. ' ' 2m V. 
V, 3, 118. Frequently, but erroneously, 
printed with, a capital as if referring to 
the native of some country. Pistol's 
question is a quotation from an old play 
current in the time of Sh. 

Bianca, dr.p. Mistress of Cassio. 0th. 

Bianca, dr.p. Sister of Katherine. Shr. 

Bigot, Robert, dr.p. Earl of Norfolk. 
John. 

biding. Abiding place. Lr. IV., 6, 228. 

bigamy. This term does not always 
mean having two wives at the same 
time, as it does with us. "Bigamy, 
by a canon of the council of Lyons, 
A.D. 1274 (adopted in England by a 
statute in 4 Edward I), was made un- 
lawful and infamous. It differed from 
polygamy or having two wives at once, 
as it consisted in either marrying two 
virgins successively, or once marrying 
a widow." Blackstone. RIII. Ill, 7, 
189. 



biggin. A night-cap. 2HIV. IV, 5, 26. 

bilberry. The whortleberry (Vaccinium 
MyrtiUus). Wiv. V, 5, 49. 

Called in Scotland the blaeberry (blue- 
berry). It stains the lips a deep, pur- 
phsh blue. Whortle is generally pro- 
nounced hurtle, and it is probable that 
this, when transferred to New England, 
became ' ' huckleberry, ' ' and was applied 
to a similar berry of a different species. 
See robin. 

bilbo. A sword-blade manufactured at 
Bilbao, Spain, and noted for its flexi- 
bility and fine temper. Wiv. Ill, V, 112. 

bilbos. Iron fetters or shackles. Hml. 
V, 2, 6. 

bill. 1. A kind of pike or halbert, for- 
merly carried by the English infantry, 
and afterward the usual weapon of 
watchmen. Nares. Ado. Ill, 3, 44; 
Rom. I, 1, 80. In Ado. Ill, 3, 191 and 
2HVI. IV, 7, 135, there is a pun upon 
bills (weapons) and bills (accounts). 
2. A placard posted by public challen- 
gers. Dyce. Ado. I, 1, 39. 

bin. Are. Frequently rendered ts, which 
is a grammatical error, bin being plural. 
In Fl, Cym. II, 3, 28, reads : 

And.|Winking Mary-buds begin to ope their 

Golden eyes 
With everything that pretty is, my Lady 
sweet arise. 

In order to make a rhyme to begin, 
Hanmer wrote : 

And winking Mary-buds begin 

To ope their golden eyes 
With all the things that pretty bin, 
My Lady sweet, arise. 
Most modern editors very properly 
restore the old reading, but Warburton, 
Johnson, and many others retain bin. 
bird=bolt. A stiort, thick arrow with a 
broad, flat end, used to kill birds with- 
out piercing — by the mere force of the 
blow. Frequently ascribed to Cupid. 
Ado. I, 1, 42. Nares. See bolt. 
birding. Hawking at partridges. Wiv. 

III, 3, 247. 

birth=child. A child adopted on account 
of being born in a certain domain. Per. 

IV, 4, 41. 



BIS 



57 



BLE 



bisson. 1. Purblind. Cor. II, 1, 70. 
2. Blinding. Hml. II, 2, 529. 

In Cor. Ill, 1, 131, the text stands : 
bosome-mult'iplied in all the folios. 
Collier's MS., as given in his notes, 
reads bisson nmltitude, and this is the 
reading in every important subsequent 
edition. The Cambridge eds. credit 
this correction to Dyce, which is cer- 
tainly wrong. 

bite. The phrase : I luill bite my thumb 
at them (Rom. I, 1, 48) seems to indicate 
a mode of insult common in Sh. time. 
Decker, in his ' ' Dead Term, ' ' has the ex- 
pression : ' ' What byting of thumbs to 
beget quarrels!" Cot. s.v. niqxie, has 
' ' Faire la nique. To mocke by nodding, 
or lifting up of the chinne ; or more 
properly, to threaten or defie by putting 
the thumbe naile into the mouth, and 
with a jerke (from th' upper teeth) 
make it to knacke. " See ear. 

bitter=sweeting. A kind of apple which 
seems to have been used for making 
sauce. Rom. II, 4, 83. 

Black Monday. Easter Monday. Merch. 
II, 5, 25. 

So called from the severity of that 
day, April 14, 1360, which was so extra- 
ordinary that of Edward Ill's soldiers 
then before Paris, many died with the 
cold. 

blacks. Mourning clothes. Wint. I, 2, 
1.33. 

bladed corn. No diflSculty has ever been 
suggested in regard to bladed grass 
(Mids. I, 1, 211), but the expression 
bladed corn (Mcb. IV, 1, 55) has given 
rise to considerable discussion since the 
publication of Collier's "Notes." On 
the famous second folio margin Col- 
lier found bleaded, that is, in the ear, 
substituted for bladed, which signifies 
the stage just before the ear is fully 
developed ; he has adopted this reading 
on the ground that while corn in the 
ear (bleaded) is often lodged by storms, 
corn in the blade, or leaf, is not liable 
to this accident. But it seems to me 
that this is the very reason why 
"bladed" is the correct reading. Any 



moderately heavy rain-storm will cause 
corn in the ear to lodge, but it requires 
a terrific storm of wind and rain to 
cause corn in the blade to lodge, and 
this is just what Macbeth meant : 
" Though the storm be so severe as to 
cause corn to lodge even while in the 
blade." It must be borne in mind that 
corn here means wheat. 
Blanch, of Spain, dr.jJ. Daughter of 
Alphonso, "King of Castile, and niece to 
King John. John. 
blank. The white mark in the middle of 
a target ; hence, metaphorically, that 
which is aimed at. Wint. II, 3, 5. 
blanks. A mode of extortion by which 
blank papers were given to the agents 
of the crown, which they were to fill 
up as they pleased, to authorize the 
demands they chose to make. Nares. 
RII. II, 1, 251. 
blazon. Publication ; revelation. Hml. 

I, 5, 21. See eternal. 
blear. To inflame or make sore ; hence 
to make the sight dim. Shr. V, 1, 120. 
Blear-eyed has been suggested as the 
true reading of Tp. 1, 2, 270, which stands 
in the accepted text blue-eyed ; in Fl 
blew-eyhl. The term "blue-eyed " con- 
veys no disagreeable impression, while 
blear-eyed very well describes the offen- 
sive look of an old witch whose eyes are 
inflamed and blinking owing to the 
smoke of her hut and her incantations. 
Dr. Furness accepts blue-eyed as refer- 
ring to the arcxis senilis, the bluish 
circle which appears in the cornea in 
old age, and which "is wont to give a 
baleful expression." For a complete 
review, see the new Variorum ed. by 
Furness. See blue-eyed. 
blench. To start aside ; to flinch. Meas. 

IV, 5, 5 ; Hml. II, 2, 626. 
blenches. Inconstancies. Sonn. CX, 7. 
bless. To defend from ; to keep from. 
A common use of the word among old 
writers. Ado. V, 1, 145 ; RIII. Ill, 3, 
5 ; Troil. II, 3, 32. 

God bless the mark. Merch. II, 2, 25. 
Of this expression Rolfe says, "the 
origin and meaning are ahke obscure." 



BLI 



58 



BOL 



The Clarendon ed. tells us that it is 
used " as a parenthetic apology for some 
profane or vulgar word ;" in such cases 
= save your reverence. But it seems 
to me more likely that in this case it is 
= God save us — i.e., from the devil 
whom he is about to name ; the mark 
being probably the sign of the cross. 

blindworm. A small lizard {Angxds 
fragilis), sometimes erroneously called 
a snake. It is without feet and has 
small eyes covered with moveable lids. 
Generally supposed to be blind ; hence 
the name. Also supposed to be deaf 
and exceedingly poisonous. It is neither 
blind nor deaf, and is not poisonous. 

blistered. Garnished with puff s. HVIII. 
I, 3, 31. 

block, i. The wood on which a hat is 
formed. Ado. I, 1, 78. 
2. The fashion of a hat. Lr. IV, 6, 188. 

blood. In blood is a term in hunting, 
and signifies in perfect condition. LLL. 
IV, 2, 4 ; IHVI. IV, 2, 48. 

blood=boItered. See bolter. 

blood, worst in. In worst condition. Cor. 
I, 1, 141. 

blood=sized. Smeared over with blood, 
as with size or glue. Kins. I, 1. 

blow. To puff up. Tw. II, 5, 48. 

blowse. A coarse, redfaced beauty. Tit. 
IV, 2, 73. 

blue=bottle. A name given in derision 
to the beadles on account of their blue 
coats, 2HIV. V, 4, 23. It is a curious 
fact that in modern London slang police- 
men still are called "blue-bottles." 

blue=eyed. Explained by some editors as 
having a blue or blackish circle round 
the eyes. Dr. Furness claims that those 
eyes which Sh. called blue would be, by 
us, called grey; a somewhat difficult 
thing to prove. See blear. 

blue=cap. A Scot, so-called from the blue 
bonnets worn by the Scots. IHIV. II, 
4, 392. 

Blunt, Sir James, dr. p. Great-grandson 
of the Sir Walter Blunt in IHIV. ; RIII. 

Blunt, Sir Walter, dr.p. Personated the 
the king at the battle of Shrewsbury, 
and was killed by Douglas. IHIV. 



blurted at. Sneered at. Per. IV, 3, 34. 

boar of Thessaly. A monstrous animal 
which Diana sent to waste the fields of 
Calydon, because CEneus, the king of 
the place, once neglected to offer up a 
sacrifice to the goddess. No one dared 
to attack the terrible animal until Mel- 
eager, who had just returned from the 
Argonautic expedition, gathered a band 
and attacked it. Meleager slew it with 
his own hand. See Althcea. 

board, n. Table. Err. V, 1, 64. "Our 
ancestors took their meals on loose 
boards, supported by trestles, and this 
custom continued till Sh. time, and 
probably after. Capulet, in Rom. I, 5, 
29, directs his servants to "turn the 
tables up " to make room, by which it 
appears that they were loose boards 
placed upon moveable stands. " — Toone. 
Steevens says these boards were hinged 
together, but this was not generally the 
case. 

board, vb. To accost. Shr. I, 2, 95. 

bob, n. A blow ; metaphorically a sar- 
casm. As. II, 7, 55. 

bob, v. 1. To strike ; to beat. RIII. V, 
3, 334. 

2. To knock. Mids. II, 1, 49. 

3. To get in a cunning, underhand man- 
ner. Oth. V, 1, 16 ; TroU. Ill, 1, 75. 

bodge. To yield ; to give way. 3HVI. 

I, 4, 19. Some define bodge = a bungle 
or botch. 

bodikin, i Literally a little body. God''s 

body kins. 1 Bodykins = God's little body. 
Wiv. II, 3, 46 ; Hml. II, 2, 554. Said to 
have referred originally to the sacra- 
ment. 

bodkin. An instrument for piercing; 
hence a small dagger. Hml. Ill, 1, 76. 

boggier. A swerver ; a vicious or in- 
constant woman. Ant. Ill, 13, 110. 

Bohemian Tartar. One of the Host's 
bombastic and nonsensical phrases. 
Wiv. IV, 5, 21. Some have suggested 
that it means gipsy. 

boitier vert. (French.) A green box, 
Wiv. I, 4, 47. 

bold, adj. Confident ; full of trust. Cym. 

II, 4, 2 ; LLL. II, 1, 28. 



BOL 



59 



BOO 



bold, V. To embolden ; to encourage. Lr. 
V, 1, 26. 

bolin. Bowline. Per. Ill, 1, 43. 

Bolingbroke, Henry, surnamed, dr.p. 
Son to John of Gaunt, and afterwards 
Henry IV. RII. 

Bolingbroke, Roger, dr.p. A conjuror. 
2HVI. 

bollen. Swollen. Lucr. 1417. 

bolt, n. 1. A sort of arrow. See bh'd- 
bolt. The shaft was sharp and generally 
barbed. Hence the proverb : " To make 
a shaft or a bolt of it". — i.e., to make 
one thing or another of it. Wiv. Ill, 
4, 24. The explanation of Schm. : "I 
will take the risk," does not quite 
meet the case. A fooVs bolt = a point- 
less arrow, fools not being trusted with 
dangerous weapons. HV. Ill, 7, 132; 
As. V, 4, 67. 

bolt, V. To sift ; to refine. Wint. IV, 3, 
377. 
2. To fetter ; to chain up. Ant. V, 2, 6. 

bolter. A sieve. IHIV. Ill, 3, 81. 

bolting=hutch. The wooden receptacle 
into which meal is bolted. Steevens. 
IHIV. II, 4, 495. 

bombast. Padding ; cotton used to stuff 
out garments. IHIV. II. 4, 495. 0th. 
I, 1, 13 ; LLL. V, 2, 791. 

bombard. A leathern vessel used for 
holding liquor ; a jack or black jack. 
IHIV. II, 4, 497. Baiting of bombards 
= swilling liquor or refreshing your- 
selves out of bombards. HVIII. V, 4, 
85. Used metaphorically for a cloud in 
Tp. II, 2, 21. 

Bona, Lady, dr.p. The Princess Bonne 
of Savoy, sister to the French queen. 
3HVI. 

bona=roba. A woman of light character, 
so called because they are generally 
showily dressed. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 26. 

bones. 1. Fingers. By these ten bones (i.e. 
fingers). 2H VI. I, 3, 193. An old form of 
asseveration, c.f. Hml. Ill, 2, 348. Some- 
times takes the form by my hand, as in 
2HVI. V, 3, 29. Fl. Some eds. change 
this to by my faith. See pickers. 
2. Pieces of bone used for beating time 
in music. Mids. IV, 1, 32. See Tongs. 



3. Bobbins used for making lace, and 
generally made of bone. Tw. II, 4, 46. 

4. O, their bones, their bones ! Rom. 
II, 4, 37. Unintelligible in its present 
form, which is that of the accepted text. 
Sch. suggests that it means : I should 
like to beat them. The most probable 
suggestion is that of Theobald, who 
reads bon''s, the plural of the French 
word bon. Mercutio has just been 
ridiculing his Frenchified countrymen 
for their pardonnez-moPs, and now 
turns to their use of the word bon which 
they use instead of " good." 

bonfire. A blazing fire kindled in some 
open place ; generally made on the 
occasion of some rejoicing. Wint. V, 2, 
24 ; 0th. II, 2, 5. A very general idea 
is that the syllable bon is the French 
bon = good, but the accepted etymology 
is that the word is bone-fire — a fire of 
bones, and that it refers to the burning 
of saints' relics in the time of HVIII. 
The words appears to be no older than 
his reign. Skeat. 

bonjour. French for good-day. Tit. I, 
1, 494. 

bonneted. Cor. II, 2, 30. Generally said 
to mean took off their bonnets. To 
express this idea our present form would 
be unbonneted (but cf. loose and un- 
loose). Cot. has "bonneter — to put off 
his cap unto ;" but this is the French 
idiom. Dyce says : " The passage is 
very awkward and obscure;" but the 
meaning obviously is that his ascent 
was not so easy as that of those who 
merely flattered the people and took 
oft" their caps to them without perform- 
ing any meritorious deeds. Compare 
Cor. V, 1, 5 : 

and knee 
The way into his mercy. 

bonny. Handsome ; fair ; beautiful. Set. 
Ado. II, 3, 69 ; Shr. II, 1, 187 ; Hml. IV, 
5, 187. 

book. In addition to the usual meanings, 
sometimes signifies any writing or paper, 
as in IHIV. Ill, 1, 224 and 270. In 
your books = in your good graces. See 
also bell, book, and candle. 



£00 



60 



BOW 



book=iiiate. A fellow student. LLL. IV, 

1, 102. 
book=oath. An oath made on the Bible. 

2HIV. II, 1, 111. 
boot. Booty. HV. I, 2, 194 ; IHIV. II, 

I, 91. In the latter passage there is a 
quibble between boots, foot-covering, 
and boots, plunder. 

In the phrase give me not the boots, 
Gent. I, 1, 27, the allusion has been sup- 
posed to be to the boot, an instrument 
of torture, and the meaning is : "do 
not torture me." It is also said that 
" to give one the boots "is an old pro- 
verbial expression signifying to make a 
laughing stock of one. The French 
have an old phrase, Bailler foin en 
come, which Cot. interprets : "To give 
one the boots ; to sell him a bargain." 
See bargain. 

Borachio, dr.p. Follower of Don John. 
Ado. 

bore. 1. The caliber of a gun or a mea- 
sure of its size. Hml. IV, 6, 26. 
2. A hole. Cor. IV, 6, 87. The bores 
of hearing = the ears. Cym. Ill, 2, 59. 

borrower's cap. The borrower is sup- 
posed to be ever ready to off with his 
cap and show complaisance to him from 
whom he wishes to obtain a loan, 2HI V. 

II, 2, 124. 

bosky. Woody. Tp. IV, 1, 81; IHIV. 
V, 1, 2. 

bosom. 1. The breast. Abraham'^ s bosom 
= the abode of the blessed. The passage 
in Hml. II, 2, 113 : To her excellent 
ivhite bosom these, is thus explained by 
Nares : " Affectation pervaded even the 
superscriptions of letters in former 
times ; they were usually addressed to 
the bosom, the fair bosotn, etc., of a 
lady. * * * Women anciently had 
a pocket in the forepart of their stays, 
in which they not only carried love- 
letters and love-tokens, but even their 
money and materials for needlework." 
2. Wish ; heart's desire. Meas. IV, 3, 
139 ; Wint. IV, 4, 574. For bosom mul- 
tijjlied, see bisson. 

botcher. A mender of old clothes. All's. 
IV, 3, 211. 



bots. A worm which infests the digestive 
tract of horses. IHIV. II, 1, 11 ; Shr. 
Ill, 2, 56. Sometimes used as an exe- 
cration, as in Per. II, 1, 124. 

bottle. A small bundle or truss. This 
word has no relation to the word bottle 
which signifies a vessel for holding 
liquids. It is the diminutive of the 
French botte, a bundle of hay, flax, etc. 
Skeat. The word is still in use in the 
pro vei-b : " to look for a needle in a bottle 
of hay" — a saying which conveys no 
sense until we understand the meaning 
of bottle. Mids. IV, 1, 37. In some old 
works an ostler is called a bottle-man. 
See cat. 

bottled. Having a lump or hump (not 
necessarily in front). Hence = hunch- 
back. Bottled spider : A large, bloated, 
glossy spider, supposed to contain venom 
proportionate to its size. Ritson. RIII. 

1, 3, 242. 

Bottom, Nick, dr. p. A weaver who takes 
a part in the play of Pyramus and 
Thisbe. Mids. 

bottom, n. A ball of thread. Shr. IV, 
3, 138. 

bottom, vb. To wind thread. Gent. Ill, 

2, 53. 

Boult, dr. p. A servant. Per. 

bound, vb. To cause to leap. HV. V, 
2, 145. 

Bourbon, Duke of, dr. p. HV. 

Bourchier, Thomas, dr. p. Archbishop of 
Canterbury and Cardinal. RIII. 

bourn. 1. A boundary. Hml. Ill, 1, 79; 
Wint. I, 2, 134. 

2. A brook ; equivalent to the Sco. word 
burn. Lr. Ill, 6, 27. 

bowget. A leathern pouch ; a budget. 
Wint. IV, 2, 20. 

bow=hand. The hand that holds the bow, 
usually the left. Wide o' the boiv hand. 
LLL. IV, 1, 135. A phrase borrowed 
from archery. If the bow be not held 
very steadily when the string is released 
to let the arrow fly, the bow will turn 
and the arrow will fly wide of the 
mark. Hence, wide o' the bow-hand = 
his aim or intention is good, but skill 
and strength are lacking. 



BOW 



61 



ISEiL 



bow=strings. Hold, or cut bow-strings. 
Mids. I, 2, 114. This singular expression 
is thus explained by Capell : "When a 
party was made at butts, assurance of 
meeting was given in the words of that 
phrase ; the sense of the person using 
them being that he would keep promise 
or they might cut his bow-strings ; de- 
molish him for an archer." 

Boyet, dr. p. A lord in attendance on 
the Princess of France. LLL. 

boy=queIler. Boy-killer. A term of re- 
proach, as if the subject were able to 
fight with boys only. Troil. V, 5, 45. 

boy, V. In Sh. time, female characters 
were acted by boys. See Hml. II, 2. 
Cleopatra dreads that she should see 
some squeaking Cleopatra boy her 
greatness — that is, personate her on 
the stage. Ant. V, 2, 220. See ivoman. 

Brabantio, dr.p. A senator, father of 
Desdemona. 0th. 

brabble, A quarrel. Tw. V, 1, 69. 

brace. Armour for the arm. Per. II, 
1, 133. cf. Vantbrace. Figuratively, 
the word sometimes stands for defence 
in general, as in 0th. I, 3, 24. 

brach. 1. A dog that hunts by scent. 
Lr. Ill, 6, 72. 

2. A female dog. Lr. I, 4, 125 ; IHIV. 
Ill, 1, 240. 

Brackenbury, Sir Robert, dr. 2). Lieu- 
tenant of the Tower. RIII. 

braid, adj. Deceitful. All's. IV, 2, 73. 

braid, v. To reproach. Per. I, 1, 93. 
Malone, followed by some, prints the 
word braid, as if it were an abbrevia- 
tion of upbraid. See gins. 

brain. Beaten tvith brains = mocked. 
Ado. V, 4, 104 ; a hot brain = skill in in- 
vention. Wint. IV, 4, 701. Boiled brains 
= hot-headed fellows. Wint, III, 3, 64. 
Much throiving about of brains = much 
satirical controversy. Hml. II, 2, 376. 
Cure thy braines (Now vselesse) boile 
within thy skidl. Tp. V, 1, 60 (as in 
Fl.). Modern editions, boiVd for boile. 
This passage has given rise to much dis- 
cussion, but the general meaning is 
obvious. Alonso had been under the 
spell of Prospero and had been driven 



crazy by what had happened to him, so 
that his brains were useless, or "boil- 
ing. " Prospero commands him and his 
companions to stand while the music 
does its work and the charm dissolves. 
For a full discussion see Tempest. New 
Variorum, ed. by Furness, page 238. 
brake. The only meaning given to this 
word by Schm. is thicket. In HVIII. 

I, 2, 75, it has been suggested that it 
means an engine of torture like the so- 
called Duke of Exeter'' s daughter, but 
a path beset with thorns and briars is 
equally forcible. The passage in Meas. 

II, 1, 39 : Some run from brakes of 
ice, has thus far defied the commenta- 
tors. Rowe read, through brakes of 
vice. Ingleby, in his " Hermeneutics " 
devotes considerable space to this pass- 
age, but to my mind without clearing 
it up. 

branched. Adorned with needlework re- 
presenting flowers and twigs. Schm. 
Tw. II, 5, 54. 

Brandon, Sir William. Elilled at Bos- 
worth. RIII. 

Brandon, dr.p. HVIII. 

brands. There is a difference of opinion 
as to the meaning of this word in Cym. 

II, 4, 91 : 

two winking Cupids 
Of silver, each on one foot standing, nicely 
Depending on their brands. 

Some think the brands are torches, as in 
Sonn. CLIII, 1, and CLIV, 2, and that 
the Cupids leaned on their inverted 
torches while standing on one foot. 
This would certainly be the best ar- 
rangement mechanically, as it would 
give two points of support to each 
image. Others claim that the brands 
are the brand-irons, or that portion of 
the andirons which supported the logs, 
and that the Cupids stood with one foot 
on these. Such an arrangement would 
be mechanically very weak, and not 
likely to be used by a good workman. 
A Cupid standing on one foot and un- 
obtrusively supported by his inverted 
brand, while having a light, airy, and 
artistic look, would be very strong. 



BRA 



62 



BRI 



bras. The French for arm. HV. IV, 4, 
18. It is pronounced bra, and attention 
has frequently been called to the error 
made by Sh. when Pistol mistakes it for 
brass, the s in the French word being 
silent. From this it has been inferred 
that Sh. knowledge of French must have 
been very slight. It has been suggested 
that the pronunciation may have been 
different in his time, but we know that 
this was not the case, for Eliot, in his 
"Orthoepia Gallica," published in 1593, 
directs that bras de fer be pronounced 
bra de fer. Sh. may have had a read- 
ing although not a speaking knowledge 
of French, 

brave, n. Boast. John, V, 2, 159. 

brave, adj. 1. Bold ; courageous. 2HVI. 
IV, 8, 21. 

2. Well-dressed ; splendid ; beautiful. 
Tp. I, 2, 6 ; III, 2, 104. 

The word here takes the French mean- 
ing. See face. 

bravery. 1. Finery. Shr. IV, 3, 57. 
2. Boastfulness. Hml. V, 2, 79. 

brawl. A kind of dance. LLL. Ill, 1, 9. 
From the French branle, to shake. 
" It was performed by several persons 
uniting hands in a circle and giving 
each other continual shakes, the steps 
changing with the time." Douce. 

break. To carve. LLL. IV, 1, 56. See 
capon. Broken mouth = a mouth from 
which some of the teeth are gone. 
Broken musifc == music on stringed in- 
struments. ' ' The term originating pro- 
bably f I'om harps, lutes, and such other 
stringed instruments as were played 
without a bow, not having the capability 
to sustain a long note to its full duration 
of time. " As. I, 2, 150 ; Troil. Ill, 1, 52. 
This was the explanation first offered 
by Chappell, but he afterwards changed 
his opinion and supposed that it was 
music by a set of instruments from 
which some of the pieces are absent. All 
explanations of the phrase seem to be 
mere conjectures, so that one is as good 
as another. 

breast. Voice. Tw. II, 3, 20. 

breathe. 1. To exercise. Hml. V, 2, 181, 



2. To rest. Cor. I, 6, 1. Breathe hi your 
uiatering = stop and take breath while 
you are drinking. IHIV. II, 4, 17. 
Also employed in other and more usual 
senses. 

breathed. Rendered strong by exercise. 
LLL. V, 2, 659 ; As. I, 2, 230 ; Shr. Ind. 
II, 50. 

breeched. The passage in Mcb. II, 3, 122 : 
Their daggers unmannerly breeched 
with gore has had many explanations, 
non e satisfactory. The general meaning 
is obvious enough, but some of the 
words have defied the commentators. 

breeching. A whipping. I am no breech- 
ing scholar in the schools, means: 
I am no schoolboy liable to be whipt. 
Shr. Ill, 1, 18. 

breed=bate. One who fosters quarrels. 
Wiv. I, 4, 12. 

breese. The gadfly. Troil. I, 3, 48; 
Ant. Ill, 10, 14. 

Briareus. Referred to in Troil. I, 2, 30. 
Known also as ^gaeon. He was the 
son of Uranus by Gaea. He had two 
brothers, Gyges and Cottus, and the 
three were known as the Uranids. They 
are described as huge monsters, with a 
hundred arms and fifty heads each. On 
one occasion, when the Olympian gods 
were about to put Zeus in chains, Thetis 
called in the assistance of ^geeon, who 
compelled the gods to desist from their 
intention. Being hated by Uranus, they 
were concealed in the depth of the earth, 
but when the Titans made war upon Zeus 
they were delivered from their prison 
that they might assist him. They over- 
came the Titans by hurling- three hun- 
dred rocks at once. 

The opinion which regards -lEgaeon 
(Briareus) and his brothers as only 
personifications of the extraordinary 
powers of nature, such as are manifested 
in the violent commotions of the earth, 
as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and 
the like, seems to explain best the various 
accounts given of them. 

bribed buck. A buck divided into parts 
to be given away. Wiv. V, 5, 27. 
This expression has caused much un- 



BRI 



63 



BRO 



necessary perplexity. Halliwell gives 
stolen; Theobald, sent as a prize or 
present ; Schm., a present made to cor- 
rupt a person, but, as if not satisfied 
with this, tells us to compare with de- 
formed, disdained, etc. Singer gives 
the meaning which we have adopted, 
because we find in Cot. (1611) : " Bribe : 
f . a peece, lumpe, or cantill of bread 
giuen vnto a begger. ' ' 
bride=house. A public hall for celebrat- 
ing marriages, which seems to have 
been one of the social arrangements of 
ancient times. Nares. Kins. I, 1. 
brief. A contract of espousals ; a license 
of marriage. Dyce. All's. II, 3, 186. 
Schm. pronounces this passage unin- 
telligible : 

the favour of the king 
Smile upon this contract ; whose cere- 
mony 
Shall seem expedient on the now-born 

brief, 
And be performed to -flight : 

Fl. and F2. have " now borne ;" others 
" now born. " The word expedient evi- 
dently carries its etymological meaning 
and signifies quickly, immediately (see 
expedient). The meaning, therefore, is 
obvious : the ceremony [of marriage] 
shall follow immediately on the con- 
tract just made [now born] and be per- 
formed to-night. 
brinded. Brindled ; of a gray or tawny 
color, with streaks or bars of a darker 
hue. The word occurs but once in Sh. , 
Mcb. TV, 1, 1. The association of 
witches and cats is to be found in the 
folk-lore of almost all nations; but gen- 
erally the "familiar" of the witch is 
supposed to be a perfectly black cat, 
without a single white hair in its fur. 
Here, however, the cat is gray, and in 
the same play (I, 1, 9) it is to Gray- 
malkin that the witch makes response. 
In heraldry it means spotted. 

bring. To conduct ; to lead ; to accom- 
pany. Meas. I, 1, 62. To he with a 
person to hriyig is a phrase which is 
common in the old dramatists, but of 



which no quite satisfactory explanation 
has been given. Dyce gives several 
examples of its use, and from these it 
would seem to have meant to get even 
ivith, to humiliate. It occurs but once 
in Sh. Troil. I, 2, 30.5. We give two 
illustrative quotations : 

And heere He have a fling at him, 

that's flat ; 
And, Balthazar, He be with thee to 

bring, 
And thee, Lorenzo, etc. 

Kyd's Spanish Tragedy. 

Why did not I strike her ? but I will 

do something 
And be with you to bring before you 
think on't. 

Shirley : The Ball. 

brize. See breese. 

broach. 1. To pierce through ; to trans- 
fix. Tit. IV, 2, 85. 

2. To set abroach, q.v. Shr. I, 2, 84; 
3HVI. II, 2, 159 ; Tit. II, 1, 67. 

brock. A badger ; used as a term of re- 
proach. Tw. II, 5, 114. 

brogue. A stout, heavy shoe, probably 
made of very coarse leather. Cym. IV, 
2, 214. Schm. , following Wares, says a 
wooden shoe. Doubtful if wooden shoes 
are ever clouted. See clout. 

broke. To act as a procurer. AU's. Ill, 
6, 74. 

broken music. See break. 

broker. A go-between, frequently in a 
vile sense. Compl. 173; John, II, i, 
568 and 582. 

brooch. To adorn. Ant. IV, 13, 25. 

brook. Flying at the brook = hawking 
at water fowl. 2HVI. II, 1, 1. 

broom=groves. Groves of broom. Fl. 
broome groues. Tp. IV, 1, 66. This 
word has given much trouble to the 
commentators, so much, indeed, that 
Hanmer changed the word to brown 
groves, the point made being that the 
broom plant does not grow large enough 
to form a grove. It has been suggested 
that by broome Sh. merely meant the 
tree from which brooms are made, and 
that this was quite as often the birch as 
the broom. Nares. Schm. interprets 
the word as "groves or woods over- 



BRO 



64 



BTTQ 



grown with genista " (broom) ; but if 
my memory fails not, the broom plant 
does not grow freely in the shade of 
trees. In rich land the broom grows 
quite tall, high enough to cast the 
shadow spoken of in the text, and so 
far as the word grove is concerned, 
such terms are very apt to be elastic. 
Burns speaks of "groves o' sweet 
myrtle," and etymologists tell us that 
"the original sense must have been a 
glade or lane cut through trees. " Skeat. 
Grove probably did not have quite the 
meaning which we now attach to it, 
but rather that of thicket. Cot. s.v. 
Chesnaye has "Chesnaye: f. A wood, 
groue, or thicket of oakes." At any 
rate the broom is a favorite plant with 
lovers; the Scotch love songs are full 
of it. 

broomstaff. The handle of a broom. 
They came to the b. to me = they came 
within a broomstaff's length of me. 
HVIII. V, 4, 57. 

brotherhood. 1. A trading company. 
Troil. I, 3, 104. 
2. A religious order. Rom. V, 2, 17. 

Brownist. An adherent of a Puritan 
sect founded in the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth by Robert Browne. Dyce 
says that Browne left the sect. Nares 
tells us that he died in jail in 1630, aged 
about 80 years. Tw. Ill, 2, 84. 

bruising=irons. Weapons. RIII. V, 3, 110. 
cf. Troil. II, 3, 18. Also Psalm ii, 9. 
(Prayer-book version) Hunter. Accord- 
ing to Henley, bruising-iron = the mace 
with which some of the English cavalry 
were armed, but this idea is gross and 
unpoetical. The expression occurs in 
a prayer, and the term is evidently 
generic, not specific. 

bruit. Noise ; report ; rumour. 3IIVI. 
IV, 7, 64. 

brush. Rude assault. Troil. V, 3, 34. 

Brutus, Decius, dr.p. A Roman con- 
spirator. Cees. His name really was 
Decimus Brutus. Sh. got the name 
Decius from North's " Plutarch." 

Brutus, Junius, dr.j). A Roman tribune 
of the people. Cor. 



Brutus, Lucius Junius. There was a 
Brutus once, etc. Caes. I, 2, 159. He 
brought about the expulsion of Tar- 
quinius Superbus. When consul he 
condemned his sons to death for at- 
tempting to restore the kingdom. 

Brutus, Marcus, dr.p. A conspirator 
against Caesar. Cses. 

bubukles. Pimples. HV. Ill, 6, 111. 
This is the only known passage in which 
the word occurs. 

buck. 1. Male deer. Troil. Ill, 1, 127. 

2. Linen for washing ; also the lye in 
which the clothes are steeped. 2HVL 
IV, 2, 51. 

3. The symbol of cuckoldom. Wiv. Ill, 
3, 167. 

buck=basket. A basket for soiled linen. 
Wiv. Ill, 3, 2. 

Buckingham, Edward Stafford, Duke of, 
dr.p. HVIII. 

Buckingham, Henry Stafford, Duke of, 
dr.2). RIII. 

Buckingham, Humphrey Stafford, Duke 
of, dr.2). 2HVI. 

Bucklersbury. A street in London, 
chiefly inhabited by druggists, whose 
chief wares were simples or herbs. 
These had a strong odor. Wiv. Ill, 3, 
79. 

buck of the first head. One m its fifth 
year. LLL. IV, 2, 10. 

buck=washing. Washing in lye. Wiv. 
Ill, 3, 140. 

bug. A bugbear ; a bugaboo. 3HVI. V, 
2, 2. The word bug is probably derived 
from the Welsh word for ghost or 
spectre ; bug-bear = spectre-bear. The 
use of the word bug to signify an insect 
is comparatively recent. The word bug- 
bear occurs in Troil. IV, 2, 34. 

In Matthew's Bible, Ps. xci, 5, is 
rendered : " Thou shalt not nede to be 
afraid of any bugs by night." 

bugle. A short piece of glass tubing used 
as a bead; generally, though not always, 
black. Bugle bracelet = a bracelet 
made of bugles, or ornamented with 
bugles. Wint. IV, 4, 224. Bugle eye- 
balls = black eyes. As. Ill, 5, 47. This 
we gather from line 130, where Phoebe 



B0L 



65 



BUT 



says : " He said mine eyes were black." 
But perhaps this was only Phoebe's 
interpretation of another meaning. It 
is more probable that bugle means bril- 
liant and that Phoebe did not understand 
it. This would be just like one of Sh. sly 
touches. 

Bull-calf, dr.p. One of Falstaff's re- 
cruits. 2HIV. 

Bullen, Anne, dr.p. Afterwards Count- 
ess of Pembroke and Queen. HVIII. 

bulk. A projecting part of a building. 
0th. V, 1, 1. 

bully=rook. A bragging cheater. Wiv. 
I, 3, 2. It has been objected to this mean- 
ing of the word, that if it be correct, 
the host would never have applied the 
term to his best customer. But this is 
just where the joke comes in. Half the 
time the host does not understand the 
meaning of the words he uses. Some 
eds. have suggested bully-rock. 

Bunch of Grapes. See tavern. 

bung. A pickpocket. 2HIV. II, 4, 136. 

bunting. A bird resembling the skylark. 
" The general resemblance of this bunt- 
ing to the skylark in the colour of its 
plumage has given origin to another 
provincial name by which it is known, 
that of the bunting lark." Yarrell's 
' ' History of British Birds. ' ' 7 took this 
lark for a bunting = I did not give 
the man credit for what he really is. 
All's. II, 5, 7. 

burgonet. A close-fitting helmet. Ant. 
I, 5, 24. 

Burgundy, Duke of, dr.p. HV. 

Burgundy, Duke of, dr.p. Suitor for 
the hand of Cordelia, but retires when 
she is disinherited. Called by his ri\ al 
the duke of "Waterish Burgundv." 
Lr. 

burial. See death. 

bush. A sign ; an advertisement. As. 
Epi. 4. A bush of ivy was the vintner's 
sign, as this plant was sacred to Bacchus. 
It was so consecrated, because when 
the child Bacchus lay in his cradle the 
nymphs of Nisa concealfed him from the 
vengeance of Juno by covering him 
with ivy trails. 



Bushy, Sir John, dr.jy. A creature of 
Richard II. RII. 

busky. Bushy. IHIV. V, 1, 2. 

buss. A kiss. 2HIV. II, 4, 291. 

busy=less. In Fl. Tp. Ill, 1, 15, the 
reading is busie lest; this was changed 
by Theobald to busyless, a word which 
is found nowhere else in the language. 
The text as usually given reads busy- 
lest. 

This passage is the great crux of the 
play, and Dr. Furness tells us that it 
"has received a greater number of 
emendations and staggers under a 
heavier weight of comment than, I 
believe, any other in Sh. , not excepting 
even Juliet's ' runaways eyes.' " In 
evidence of this he gives twelve solid 
pages of fine type to it, and then con- 
cludes as follows, the explanation being 
credited to Hiclison (1850), Ferdinand 
says in effect : "I am forgetting my 
work ; but when I do thus forget, my 
mind so teems with thoughts that I am 
really most busy when I seem to be 
least busy, and by these sweet thoughts 
I am even refreshed for my work." 
The spelling lest for least is quite com- 
mon with old authors. 

butcher. See lent. 

butcher's cur. Cardinal Wolsey is said 
to have been the son of a butcher. 
Johnson. HVIII. I, 1, 120. 

but. 1. Except. 2HIV. V, 3, 83; do. II, 
3, 8 ; IHVI. II, 2, 82. 
2. Only. Ado. II, 1, 45. 

butt. Goal ; "the end to which I was 
destined." 0th. V, 2, 267. 

butt. This word occurs in Fl., and in 
most eds. is rendered boat. Tp. I, 2, 
146. It has been supposed, however, 
and not without good reason, that butt 
is tho name of a peculiar kind of vessel. 
Some have supposed that it means a 
cark, which is absurd. 

buttery=bar. In large establishments, a 
room whence provisions were dispensed. 
Tw. I, 3, 74. Maria's speech is thus 
explained by Kenrick : " The bringing 
the hand to the buttery-bar and letting 
it drink, is a proverbial phrase among 



BUT 



CAD 



forward Abigails, to ask at once for a 
kiss and a present. Sir Andrew's slow- 
ness of comprehension in this particular 
gave her a just suspicion at once of his 
frigidity and avarice." 

button. 1. A well-known device for 
fastening clothes. In his buttons = he 
is able to do it; it is in him. It is a 
familiar expression to-day, and can 
cause trouble only to closet students. 
Wiv. Ill, 2, 71. 
2. Buds. Hml. I, 3, 40. 

butt=shaft. A kind of arrow used for 
shooting at butts ; formed without a 

. barb so as to be easily extracted. Rom. 
II, 4, 16. 

Butts, Doctor, dr. p. Physician to Henry 
VIII. HVIII. 



buxom. Lively ; fresh ; brisk. Buxom 
valour = vigorous valour. HV. Ill, 
6, 27. 

by=drinkings, or drinkings at odd times. 
Occasional drinkings. IHIV. Ill, 3, 84. 

by'riakin. By our Ladykin, or little 
Lady (the Virgin Mary). Mids. Ill, 1, 
13. 

buzzard. A common or inferior kind of 
hawk, and one not easily tamed. Shr. 
II, 1, 208 ; RIII. I, 1, 133. 

There is no doubt about the meaning 
of buzzard in Shr. II, 1, 208, but it has 
been suggested that in line 209 buzzard 
means an insect, but this seems to miss 
the point which turns upon the mistake 
of taking a gentle turtle for a hawk, 
and one untameable at that. 




ABIN. 1. To dwell in a cabin. 
Tit. IV, 2, 179. 
2. To imprison. I atn cabined, 
cribb''d., confined, bound m — 
i.e., made a prisoner to saucy doubts 
and fears. Mcb. Ill, 4, 24. 

cable. Scope, or, as we saj^ colloquially, 
"rope." 0th. I, 2, 17. 

caco=demon. A bad demon ; an evil 
spirit of the worst kind. RIII. I, 3, 
144. 

cade. A small barrel or keg. 2HVI. 
IV, 2, 36. 

Cade, Jack, dr.p. A rebel. 2HVI. 

John Cade, or as he is called in 
2H VI. , Jack Cade, was born in Ireland 
and killed near Heathfield, in Sussex, 
England, July 12, 1450. Cade's rebellion 
was chiefly a rising of Kentishmen for 
real or imaginary grievances. At first 
they had considerable success. They 
defeated the royal army at Seven Oaks, 
killing the commanders, Sir Humphrey 
Stafford and his brother. They entered 
London July 2, and put Lord Say and 
his son-in-law to death, but owing to 
their plundering and ravaging, the citi- 
zens of London became enraged and 



defeated Cade and his followers. Cade 
fled in disguise, and his death is said to 
have occurred pretty much as Sh. has 
described it. 

caddis. Worsted galloon ; some say it is 
so-called because it resembles the caddis- 
worm. Wint. IV, 4, 208. 

caddis=garter. Worsted garter ; a term 
used in derision. Garters of the time 
being worn in sight : they were usu- 
ally made of costly material, and to 
wear a cheap, coarse kind was a subject 
of reproach. IHIV. II, 4, 80. 

cadent. Falling. Lr. I, 4, 307. 

Cadmus. Son of Agenor, King of Phoe- 
nicia, and brother of Europa. When 
Europa was carried off by Jupiter to 
Crete, Agenor sent Cadnuis in search of 
his sister, enjoining him not to return 
without her. Unable to find her, Cad- 
mus settled in Thrace, but having con- 
sulted the oracle at Delphi, he was com- 
manded by the god to follow a cow of 
a certain kind, and to build a town on 
the spot where the cow should aink 
down with fatigue. Cadmus found the 
cow in Phocis, and followed her into 
Boeotia, where she sank down on the 



CAD 



67 



CAL 



spot on which Cadmus built Cadmea, 
afterward the citadel of Thebes. In- 
tending to sacrifice the cow to Minerva, 
he sent some persons to the well of 
Mars (Ares) to fetch water. The well 
was guarded by a dragon, a son of 
Mars, who killed the men sent by Cad- 
mus. Cadmus slew the dragon, and by 
advice of Minerva, sowed the teeth of 
the monster, out of which armed men 
grew up, called Sparti (or the Sown), 
who killed each other, with the excep- 
tion of five, who were the ancestors of 
the Thebans. 

Cadmus is said to have introduced 
into Greece, from Phoenicia or Egypt, 
an alphabet of sixteen letters and also 
the art of mining, and civilization in 
general. Mids. IV, 1, 117. 
caduceus. The wand of Mercury, around 
which were twined two snakes repre- 
sented as kissing each other. Hyginus 
tells us that Mercury once found two 
snakes fighting and divided them with 
his wand ; from this circumstance they 
were used as an emblem of peace, and 
from caduceus was formed the word 
Cadxiceator, which signified a person 
sent to treat of peace. The caduceus 
had the power of inducing sleep ; hence, 
Milton calls it the " opiate rod." Troil. 
II, 3, 14. 
Cadwal, dr.p. The assumed name of 

Arviragus. Cym. 
Cadwalader. The last king of the Welsh 
or ancient Britons. Surnamed Bhen- 
diged, or the Blessed. He performed 
wondrous feats of valour in defending 
Wales against the Saxons, and accord- 
ing to the prophecy of Merlin, he is one 
day to return to the world to expel the 
Saxons from the land. He succeeded 
to the throne in 634 and died in 664. 
HV. V, 1, 29. 
Caesar, Julius, dr.p. Cees. 

Caius Julius Caesar was born July 12, 
100 B.C. Killed at Rome, March 15, 
44 B . c . Amongst other notable achieve- 
ments, he reformed the calendar 46 B. C. , 
and gave his name to the Julian calen- 
dar and the month of July. His famous 



"crossing of the E,ubicon" occurred 
49 B.C. 
Caesar, Octavius, dr.jJ. A Roman trium- 
vir. Cses. and Ant. 
Caesario, dr.p. The name assumed by 
Viola while in the disguise of a man. 
Tw. 
Caesarion. The son of Cleopatra by Julius 

Caesar. Ant. Ill, 13, 162. 
cage. 1. A prison. 2HVI. IV, 2, 56. 
2. A wicker-work basket. Rom. II, 3, 7. 
The expression cage of rushes, As. 
Ill, 2, 389, has called forth a good deal 
of comment. Some think it refers to 
the rush rings used by country folks in 
a mock ceremony of marriage, but this 
seems to me far fetched. Does it not 
rather refer to the cages made of rushes 
by children who, time out of mind, 
have therein imprisoned butterflies and 
insects of various kinds ? Such a cage 
is the very emblem of flimsiness. 
Cain=coloured. Yellow or red, as a color 
of hair, being esteemed a deformity, 
was by common consent attributed to 
Cain and Jiidas, and these characters 
were generally represented in old tapes- 
tries with yellow or red beards. It has 
been conjectured that the odium took 
its rise from the aversion to the red- 
haired Danes. Wiv. I, 4, 23 ; As. Ill, 
4, 10. 
Caithness, dr.p. A Scottish nobleman. 

Mcb. 
caitiff. A wretch ; slave ; captive ; hence, 

sometimes a witch. All's. Ill, 2, 117. 
Caius, Dr., dr.2:>. A French physician, in 

love with Anne Page. Wiv. 
Caius, dr.p. Name assumed by Earl of 

Kent during his banishment. Lr. 
Calchas, dr.p. A Trojan priest, taking 
part with the Greeks. Father of Cres- 
sida. Troil. 

In Sh. play Calchas is represented as 
a Trojan, who has deserted his country 
and gone over to the enemy, but there 
is no trace of this story in the ancient 
legends. See Cressida. He was the 
son of Thestor of Mycenae, a high-priest, 
and the wisest soothsayer amongst the 
Greeks. He foretold the duration of 



CAL 



68 



CAM 



the Trojan war, even before the Greeks 
sailed from Aulis, and while they were 
engaged in the war he explained to 
them the cause of the anger of Apollo. 
An oracle had declared that Calchas 
should die if he should meet with a 
soothsayer superior to himself ; and this 
came to pass at Claros, for Calchas met 
the famous soothsayer Mopsus in the 
grove of the Clarian Apollo, and was 
defeated by him in not being able to 
state the number of figs on a wild fig- 
tree, or the number of pigs which a sow 
was going to give birth to — things which 
Mopsus told with perfect accuracy. 
Hereupon Calchas is said to have died 
of grief. Another story about his death 
runs thus : A soothsayer saw Calchas 
planting some vines in the grove of 
Apollo, near Grynium, and foretold 
him that he would never drink any of 
the wine produced by them. When the 
grapes had grown ripe and wine was 
made of them, Calchas invited the 
soothsayer among his other guests. 
Even at the moment when Calchas held 
the cup of wine in his hand the sooth- 
sayer repeated the prophecy. This ex- 
cited Calchas to such a fit of laughter 
that he dropped the cup and choked. 

calf's skin. The phrase, and hang a 
calfs skin on those 7-ecreant limbs, is 
thus explained by Sir John Hawkins : 
" Fools, kept for diversion in great 
families, were often distinguished by 
coats of calf skin, with buttons down 
the back. Therefore, Constance and 
Faulconbridge mean to call Austria a 
fool in that sarcastic line so often re- 
peated. " To this Ritson replies : " But 
it does not appear that Constance means 
to call Austria a fool, as Sir John 
Hawkins would have it; but she cer- 
tainly means to call him coward, and 
to tell him that a calfs skin would suit 
his recreant limbs better than a lion's." 
John III, 1, 129. 

Caliban, dr.p. A savage and deformed 
slave; the son of Sycorax. Tp. 

Some coms. contend that the name 
Caliban is an anagram of cannibal, 



but there does not seem to be any good 
ground for this. It has been suggested 
that the idea of Caliban is of Hebraistic, 
or at least of Oriental origin, and is, in 
fact, no other than the fish-god Dagon 
of the Philistines. For a full exposition 
of this theory see Hunter's "New Illus- 
trations," Vol. I, p. 183, or Furness's 
"Tempest," p. 65. 

calculate. To prophesy. Cses. I, 3, 65. 
This application of the word evidently 
had its origin in the practice of as- 
trology. Is our Americanism, "I cal- 
culate," a relic of this old use of the 
word and brought over by the first 
settlers ? 

caliver. A hand gun, less and lighter 
than a musket, and fired without a 
rest. Dyce. IHIV. IV, 2, 21; 3HVI. 
Ill, 2, 289. 

Calipolis. A character is Peele's hem.- 
bastic tragedy, "The Battle of Alcazar." 
Feed and be fat, my fair C. (2HIV. 
II, 4, 193) is a travesty of one of the 
lines. 

calling. Appellation; title. As. I, 2, 
245. 

callat, ) A woman of bad character. 

callet, [ Wint. II, 3, 90 ; 2HVI. I, 3, 86; 

callot. ) ^ 0th. IV, 2, 121. 

calm. A Quicklyism for qualm. 2HIV. 
II, 4, 40. 

Calpurnia, dr.p. Wife of Julius Caesar. 
Cses. 

Calydon. The princess heart of Calydon. 
2HVI. I, 1, 235. See Meleager. 

Cambio, dr.p. Name assumed bj fiiucen- 
tio in Sh. 

Cambridge, Earl of, dr.p. A conspirator. 
HV. 

Cambyses. King of ancient Pei'sia. In 
King Cambyses vein (IHIV. II, 4, 425); 
an allusion to Preston's play entitled: 
" A lamentable Tragedie * * * c®n- 
taining the life of Cambises, King of 
Percia * * * and his odious d-eath 
by God's lustice appointed." 

Camillo, dr.p. A Sicilian lord. Wint. 

Camelot. The place where Arthur kept 
his court in the west. In the parts of 
Somersetshire, near Cahielot, there are 



CAM 



69 



CAP 



many lai'ge moors, upon which great 
numbers of geese are bred. In Lr. II, 
5, 90, there is, perhaps, a double alhi- 
sion to Camelot as famous for its geese, 
and to those knights who were van- 
quished by the Knights of the Round 
Table being sent to Camelot to yield 
themselves vassals to King Arthur. 

Campeius, Cardinal, dr.p. HVIII. 

can. An old way of spelling gan (began). 
Pilgr. 232 ; LLL. IV, 3, 106 ; Per. Ill, 
Prol. 36. 

can. To know ; to be skilful in. Hml. 
IV, 7, 85. 

canakin. A little can ; a mug. 0th. II, 
3, 71. See clink. 

canary. A quick and lively dance. All's. 
II, 1, 77. 

canary. A blunder of Mrs. Quickly for 
quandary. Wiv. II, 2, 61 and 64. Dr. 
Schmidt objects to this interpretation 
on the ground that "this word is un- 
known to Sh." The word (quandarie) 
was used by Greene in his " Mamillia " 
(printed 1593). Greene died in 1592, and 
as he had lampooned Sh. , Sh. may have 
ridiculed some of his expressions. Sh. 
was well acquainted with Greene's 
works, for the "Winter's Tale" is a 
dramatization of one of Greene's stories, 
Pandosto. 

candidatus. A Roman name for a suitor 
for a high office, so called from his 
white gown. Tit. I, 1, 185. 

Canidius, dr.p. Lieutenant-general of 
Antony. Ant. 

canker. The dog-rose. Ado. I, 3, 28. 

canker^bloom. The flowers of the wild 
rose. Sonn. LIV, 5. 

canker=blossom. A worm that preys on 
blossoms. Mids. Ill, 2, 282. 

candle. See hell^ hook, and candle. 

candle's ends. " It may, perhaps, be 
asked why drinking off candle's ends 
for flap-dragons should be esteemed an 
agreeable qualification ? The answer is, 
that as a feat of gallantry, to swallow a 
candle'' s-end formed a more formidable 
and disagreeable flap-dragon than any 
other substance, and therefore afforded 
a stronger testimony of zeal for the 



lady to whose health it was drunk." 
Naves. 2HIV. II, 4, 267. See fiap- 
dragon. 

candle=niine. A huge mass of tallow. 
2HIV. II, 4, 326. 

candle=waster. One who sits up at night 
either for study or revelry. Ado. V, 
I, 18. 

cannibal. One who eats human flesh. 
3HVI. I, 4, 152; Oth. I, 3, 143. In 
2HIV. II, 4, 180, Pistol, in his bombastic 
speech, evidently uses cannibals for 
Hannibals, and in Meas. II, 1, 183, 
Elbow uses Hannibal for cannibal. 

canstick. A candlestick. IHIV. Ill, 1, 
131. 

Canterbury, Archbishop of, Bourchier, 
dr.p. RIII. 

Canterbury, Archbishop of, Chicheley, 
dr.p. HV. 

Canterbury, Archbishop of, Cranmer, 
dr.p. HVIII. 

cantle. A piece ; a part. IHIV. Ill, 1, 
100 ; Ant. Ill, 10, 6. 

canton. A song. Tw. 1, 5, 289 and III, 
1, 100. 

canvass. To toss, as in a blanket. In 
2HIV. II, 4, 243, this is undoubtedly 
the signification, but in IHVI. I, 3, 36, 
this meaning does not apply so well. 
To tumble the bishop into his hat and 
toss him therein is not very feasible. A 
writer in the Edinburgh Review (Oct. 
1872) suggests that canvass here means 
to trap or to ensnare, canvass being a 
technical name for a net used for catch- 
ing wild hawks. The hat being the 
emblem of his position, which he abused 
by granting immoral licences, he would 
be caught in it. 

canzonet. A song ; a ditty. [Ital. can- 
zonetta.] LLL. IV, 2, 125. 

cap. A covering for the head ; meta- 
phorically, the top. Tim. IV, 3, 363; 
Hml. II, 2, 233, and cf., our collo- 
quial : " that caps all. " 

capable. Capacious. Oth. Ill, 3, 459. 

cap=a=pe. From head to foot. Wint. 
IV, 4, 761 ; Hml. I, 2, 200. In some eds. 
cap-a-pie, the old French form. 

Caphis, dr.pi. A servant. Tim. 



CAP 



70 



CAR 



caper. The unexpanded flower of the 
caper-bush, used for pickling. For 
quibble, see mutton. 

capitulate. 1. To make head. IHIV. 

III, 2, 120. 

2. To treat with; to raake agreement. 
Cor. V, 3, 82. 
capocchia. (Ital.) A simpleton. Troil. 

IV, 2, 33. 

capon. Besides the usual and well-known 
meaning of the word as applied to 
certain kinds of fowl (Gent. IV, 4, 10 ; 
Hml. Ill, 2, 100), it is also applied as a 
term of reproach (Err. Ill, 1, 32 ; Ado. 

V, 1, 155, where the inference is obvi- 
ous). It has been suggested that in 
Cym, II, 1, 25, there is a quibble (capon 
= cap on = coxcomb). In LLL. IV, 1, 
56, the word capon evidently means a 
love-letter. Theobd;ld, in reference to 
this passage, says : " Our poet uses this 
metaphor as the French do their poulet, 
which signifies a young fowl and a 
love-letter. The Italians use the same 
manner of expression when they call a 
love-epistle ima pollicetta [polizzetta] 
amorosa. I ow'd the hint of this equi- 
vocal use of the word to my ingenious 
friend Mr. Bishop. ' ' Farmer, the famous 
Sh. critic, adds : "Henry IV. consulting 
with Sully about his marriage, says : 
' My niece of Guise would please me 
best, notwithstanding the malicious 
reports that she loves poulets in paper 
better than in a fricassee. ' ' ' See also 
carve and break. 

capriccio. (Italian.) Caprice ; fancy. 
All's. II, 3, 310. 

capricious. / am here tvith thee and thy 
goats, as the most c. j^oet, honest Ovid, 
was among the Goths. As. Ill, 3, 8. 
Meaning here is uncertain. The pun 
on Goths and goats (the th having fre- 
quently the sound of t in Sh. time) is 
obvious. Ovid may here be called 
"capricious," as being notedly amatory 
(See his Art of Love), and the goat is 
one of the most salacious of animals. 
(0th. Ill, 3, 403.) 

captious. Various meanings have been 
given to this word as it occurs in All's. 



I, 3, 208. Schm. makes it = " capaci- 
ous." Here, as in many other cases, 
Sh. probably gave it the purely ety- 
mological meaning, taking, so that 
"captious and intenible " would mean 
" taking and not holding." 

captivate, adj. Captive. IHVI. II, 3, 
42. 

Capucius, dr.p. Ambassador from 
Charles V. HVIII. 

Capulet, dr.p. Father of Juliet. Rom. 

Capulet, Lady, dr.p. Wife of Capulet, 
and mother of Juliet. Rom. 

car. In the expression : Though our 
silence he drawn from lis with cars 
(Tw. II, 5, 71), the meaning has never 
been satisfactorily ascertained. John- 
son makes cai's = carts. Perhaps Fabian 
means though our silence be drawn 
from us by ivhippiyig at the carVs tail, 
a well known mode of punishment at 
that time. Jackson suggested cats, 
meaning, of course, the cat-o'-nine-tails. 
But was this word in use then in that 
sense ? Hanmer suggested ears, and 
this reading is adopted by Rolf e. 

carack. A large ship of burden. (Ital. 
caracca.) Cot. tells us that a carraqtie 
is : " The huge ship tearmed a carricke. " 
Err. Ill, 2, 140 ; 0th. 1, 2, 50 ; Kins. 
Ill, 4. 

caraways. Comfits made with caraway 
seeds. 2HIV. V, 3, 3. 

carbonado. Meat scotched for broiling. 
IHIV. V, 3, 61. 

carcanet, [ A necklace ; a collar of 

carkanet. ] jewels. Err. Ill, 1. 4 ; Sonn. 
LII, 8. 

card, V. To debase by mixing. IHIV. 
Ill, 2, 62. 

This use of the word was not uncom- 
mon in Sh. time. Thus, in Greene's 
"Quip for an Upstart Courtier" we 
find : " You card your beer, if you see 
your guests begin to be drunk, half 
small, half strong." 

card, n. 1. The face of a mariner's com- 
pass. Mcb. I, 3, 17. 

2. Printed or written rules. Hml. V, Ij 
149. See face. 
A "cooling card" is a stroke whicb 



CAR 



71 



CAS 



suddenly turns the tables. IHVI. V, 3, 
S4. 

Cardecue. A quarter of a French crown. 
(quart cVecu). All's. IV, 3, 311. 

Cardinal Beaufort, dr. p. Bishop of Win- 
chester. 2HVI. 

Cardinal Bourchler, dr.jo. Archbishop 
of Canterbury. RIII. 

Cardinal Campeius, dr. p. HVIII. 

Cardinal Pandulph, dr.j). The Papal 
legate. John. 

Cardinal Wolsey, dr.j). HVIII. 

Carduus Benedictus. The blessed thistle. 
This plant was reputed to cure all 
diseases^even the plague. Cogan in 
his "Haven of Health," published in 
4to. in 1586, says: "This her be may 
worthily be called Benedictus or Onini- 
morbia, that is, a salve for every sore, 
not knowen to physitians of old time, 
but lately revealed by the speciall pro- 
vidence of Almighty God. " It is alleged 
that Luther was cured of " a congeal- 
ing of blood about the breast " by 
diinking the water of Carduus Bene- 
dictus. It is evident that in Ado. Ill, 
4, 74, Margaret twits Beatrice with 
her love for Benedick, and recommends 
Carduus Benedictus as a remedy for 
heart disease. 

career. Defined by Schm. as: 1. The 
ground on which a race is run ; 2. The 
race itself. This scarcely gives the idea 
intended in some passages. In Ado. V, 
1, 135, I shall meet your wit in the 
career, certainly does not mean that 
Benedick will vieet Claudio's wit in the 
race ; that would be impossible, as con- 
testants in a race never meet. The 
term is borrowed from the tilt-yard, 
and means that he will meet him in the 
fuU rush of his attack. So in Ado. II, 
3,250: The ' career of his humour 
means when his humour is intense or 
in full swing. Also in RII. I, 2, 49 : 
first career means the first encounter. 
The word occurs seven times in the 
plays and has this signification in each 
case, except HV. II, 1, 132, where it has 
no meaning at all, being nonsensically 
used by Nym (not by Pistol, as Schm. 



gives it). Bardolph's speech, Wiv. I, 1, 
184, is evidently thieves' Latin intended 
to confuse Slender, and any attempt to 
make sense of it would simply be a 
waste of time. 
carl. A churl ; a fellow. Cym. V, 2, 4. 
Carlisle, Bishop of, dr.jD. RII. 
carlot. A peasant ; a churl. As. Ill, 5, 

108. 
carnal. Carnivorous, RIII. IV, 4, 56. 
carpet. He is a kyiight, dubbed tvith un- 
hatched rapier and on carjpet con- 
sideration. Tw. Ill, 4, 258. ^'CarjJet 
knights were dubbed at court by mere 
favour — not on the field of battle for 
their military exploits. Our early 
writers constantlj^ speak of them with 
great contempt, and carpet knight 
became a term for an effeminate per- 
son." Dyce. See also Nare's " Gloss- 
ary, " where it is stated that "trencher- 
knight ' ' is probably synonymous. 
carpet=monger. One who frequents car- 
pets and ladies' bowers. Ado. V, 2, 32. 
carpets. Table-cloths. Shr. IV, 1, 52. 
carrack. See carack. 
carve. In Hml. I, 3, 20, the phrase carve 
for himself obviously means : to shape 
his own destiny. 

In Wiv. I, 3, 48, and probably in 
LLL. V, 2, 323, the word has a special 
meaning first pointed out by Hunter in 
his " New Illustrations of Shakespeare, " 
Vol. I, p. 215. In these passages the 
word means ' ' to make certain signs 
with the fingers, indicating a desire 
that the person to whom they are ad- 
dressed should be attentive and pro- 
pitious." In "A Very Woman" we 
find : ' ' Her lightnesse gets her to swim 
at the top of the table, where her wrie 
little finger bewraies carving ; her 
neighbours at the latter end know they 
are welcome." 
Casca. dr.p, A Roman conspirator, 

and friend of Brutus. Caes. 
case, n. Skin. The skin of a fox is 

called its case. Tw. V, 1, 168. 
case, V. To strip off the skin. All's. Ill, 

6, 110. cf. uncase. 
casque. A helmet. RII. I, 3, 81. 



CAS 



72 



CAT 



Cassandra, dr.p. A prophetess. Troil. 
Cassandra was the daughter of Priam 
and Hecuba. She and her twin brother 
Helenus, when young, were left asleep 
in the sanctuary of Apollo, when their 
ears were purified by serpents, so that 
they could understand the divine sounds 
of nature and the voices of birds. After- 
wards, Cassandra sometimes used to 
sleep in the same temple, and when 
she grew up her beauty won the lo\ e of 
Apollo. The god endowed her with 
the gift of prophecy upon her promising 
to comply with his desires, but when 
she had become possessed of the pro- 
phetic art, fhe refused to fulfil her 
promise. Thereupon the god, in anger, 
ordained that no one should believe her 
prophecies. She predicted to the Trojans 
the ruin that threatened them, but no 
one believed her ; she was looked upon 
as a madwoman, and according to a 
late account was shut up and guarded. 
On the capture of Troy she fled into the 
sanctuary of Minerva, but was torn 
from the statue of the goddess by A jax, 
son of O'lleus, and, according to some 
accounts, was even ravished by him in 
the sanctuary. On the division of the 
booty she fell to the lot of Agamemnon. 
See Agaif)%einnon. 

Cassibelan. A king of Britain in the 
time of Julius Caesar. After his death 
Theomantius, the youngest son of Lud, 
was made king. He reigned twenty- 
two years and left the kingdom to his 
son Cymbeline or Kymbeline. Cym. I, 
1,30. 

Cassio, dr.p. Lieutenant to Othello. 
Oth. 

Cassius, dr.p). A Roman conspirator 
and friend of Brutus. Caes. 

cassock. A military cloak. All's. IV, 
3, 193. 

cast. 1. Dismissed. Oth. I, 1, 150. 
2. This was the word used by quacks to 
describe the inspection of the urine by 
which diseases were found out. Mcb. 
V, 3, 50. cf. Tw. Ill, 4, 113. 

Castalion=King=Urinal. A nonsensical 
word coined by the host. It doubtless 



has a satirical reference to the Doctor's 
system of medical practice. Sometimes 
printed Castillian. Wiv. II, 3, 34. 

Castiliano vulgo. Schm. calls this " Span- 
ish of Sir Toby's own making and not 
easily translated. ' ' Warburton suggest- 
ed volto for vulgo, and explained it as 
= "Put on your Castilian counten- 
ance ; that is, your grave solemn looks." 
Tw. I, 3, 45. 

castle. A very strong helmet. In Mal- 
lory's "History of King Arthur" 
(Camelot Classics, p. 294), we find this 
passage : " ' Do thou thy best,' said Sir 
Gawaine ; ' therefore, hie thee fast that 
thou wert gone : and wit thou well, we 
shall soon come after, and break the 
strongest castle that thou hast upon 
thy head.'" HoUinshed has : "Then 
suddenlie, with great noise of trumpets, 
entered sir Thomas Knevet in a casteU 
of cole blacke." This is also the mean- 
ing in Tit. Ill, 1, 170 ; Troil. V, 2, 187. 

The expression : My old lad of the 
castle ! IHI V. I, 2, 48, is equivalent to 
"my old buck." It has been claimed 
that this is a reference to the old play 
in which Falstaff appears as Sir John 
Oldcastle. But this opinion is now 
relinquished. The expression "old lad 
of the castle " is an old one. 

Catalan. A Chinaman ; a native of 
Cathay. A cant term for a sharper or 
thief. Wiv. II, 1, 147. 

cater=>cousin. A corruption of the French 
quatre-cousin = fourth cousin. Gobbo 
perhaps used it as meaning that t^o 
persons ate together. Merch. II, 2, 139. 

cates. Delicacies ; dainty food. IHIV. 
Ill, 1, 163 ; Shr. II, 1, 190. (A pun or 
quibble.) 

Catesby, Sir William, dr.p. RIII. 

His name was inade the subject of 
a rhyme by one Collingbourne : 

The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell our dog 
Doe rule all England under a Hog ; 
The crooke backt boore the way hath 

found 
To root our roses from our ground. 

The Cat was Catesby; the Rat, Rat- 
cliff ; Lovell was Lord Lovel ; the Hog 



CAT 



73 



CER 



was Richard III. , whose cognizance was 
a boar. Collingbourne was executed 
for making this rhyme. Catesby was 
taken prisoner at Bosworth and exe- 
cuted. 

catlings. Fiddle-strings ; catgut. Troil. 
Ill, 3, 306. 

Cato, the Younger, dr.p. A friend to 
Brutus. Cses. 

caudle. A warm, cordial di'ink made of 
gruel, with ale or wine, and spices, 
given to the sick — especially to women 
and their gossips. Hempen caudle = 
execution by hanging ; help of hatchet 
= decapitation, both being certain cures 
for all diseases. 2HVI. IV, 7, 95 ; cf. 
Cym. V, 4, 169, et seq. This passage has 
caused trouble to some, but the meaning 
seems obvious. See help. 

cautel. Deceit. Hml. I, 3, 15, 

cautelous. False ; deceitful ; insidious. 
Cor. IV, 1, 33 ; Cses. II, 1, 129. 

caviare. The roe of the sturgeon, pre- 
served by salting. The taste for caviare 
is an acquired one, and to ' ' the general ' ' 
it is not acceptable, hence Hamlet's 
comparison. Hml. II, 2, 457. 

cease. Decease ; death. Hml. Ill, 3, 15. 

Celia, dr.p. Daughter of the usurping 
Duke Frederick, and companion of 
Rosalind. As. 

censer. A pan for burning perfumes. 
" The censers had pierced convex covers 
and stood on feet. They not only 
served to sweeten a barber's shop, but 
to keep his water warm and dry his 
cloths on." Steevens. The reference 
in Shr. IV, 3, 91, is to the perforations 
in the cover. The portable censers, 
used for burning perfumes in dwelling 
houses, had thin embossed figures in the 
middle of the lid, and it has been sug- 
gested that it is to these figures that 
reference is made in 2HIV. V, 4, 21. 
White's idea is that the thin officer 
wore some kind of cap which Doll Tear- 
sheet likened to a censer, and this is 
certainly a very satisfactory explana- 
tion. 

censure, n. Judgment. IHVI. II, 3, 10 ; 
RIII. II, 2, 144 ; 0th. II, 2, 3, 193. 



censure, v. 1. To pass sentence upon. 
Meas. I, 4, 72. 
2. To judge ; to criticise. Gent. I, 2, 19. 

Cephalus. Corrupted by Bottom to Shafa- 
lus. Mids. V, 1, 200. Alluded to as 
"the morning's love" in Mids. Ill, 2, 
389. Cephalus was the son of Deion, 
the ruler of Phocis. He was married 
to Procris or Procne, to whom he was 
sincerely attached. Once when the 
handsome Cephalus was amusing him- 
self with the chase, Aurora approached 
him with loving entreaties which, how- 
ever, he rejected. The goddess then 
bade him not break his vow until 
Procris had broken hers, but advised 
him to try her fidelity. She then meta- 
morphosed him into a stranger, and 
gave him rich presents with which he 
was to terapt Procris. Procris yielded, 
when he discovered himself to her, 
whereupon she fled in shame to Crete 
and discovered herself to Diana, who 
gave her a wonderful dog and spear 
which were never to miss their object. 
She then returned home in the disguise 
of a youth and went out with Cephalus 
to hunt. When he saw the excellence 
of the dog and spear he wished to buy 
them, but she would sell them only for 
love. When he promised to love her 
she discovered herself to him, and they 
were reconciled. As she still feared 
Aurora, however, she always jealously 
watched him while hunting, and by 
accident he killed her with the spear, 
mistaking her for a wild animal. Grrief 
led him to kill himself. 

cere=cloth. Waxed cloth sometimes used 
to enwrap dead bodies. Merch. II, 7, 51. 

ceremonies. 1. Honorary ornaments; 
tokens of respect. Caes. I, 1, 70. Here 
they mean scarfs. See Caes. I, 2, 289. 
2. Omens ; signs deduced from sacri- 
fices or other ceremonial rites. Cses. II, 
1, 197; do. II, 2, 13. 

Ceres, dr.p. Represented by one of the 
spii-its called up by Prospero. Tp. 

Cei'es, whom this spirit represented, 
was one of the great divinities of the 
Greeks, and was the daughter of Cro- 



CEB 



74 



CHA 



nus (Saturn) and Rhea, and sister of Ju- 
piter, by whom she became the mother 
of Proserpine. She was the goddess of 
agriculture and of all the fruits of the 
earth. It has been claimed (see Tp. IV. 

I, 66) that she was not the goddess of 
trees and forests; but the ancient legends 
tell us that she punished with fearful 
hunger Erysicthon, who cut down her 
sacred grove. 

Cerimon, dr. p. A lord of Ephesus. Per. 

cess. Measure ; reckoning. IHIV. II, 
1,8. 

cestron. A cistern. Eans. V, 1. 

certify. To convince. Merch. II, 8, 10. 

chaffless. Without chaff; without any 
imperfection. Cym. I, 6, 178, 

chair days. A time of repose ; the even- 
ing of life. 2HVI. V, 2, 48. 

chamber. 1. A small piece of ordnance. 
HVIII. I, 4, 47 (stage direction); 2HIV. 

II, 4, 57. (quibble.) 

2. London was anciently called "Camera 
Regis " (King's Chamber). This title it 
began to have immediately after the 
Norman Conquest. RIII. Ill, 1, 1. 

chamberer. An effeminate man ; a car- 
pet knight. 0th. Ill, 3, 265. 

chameleon. A species of lizard, notable 
for its power of changing its color so as 
to resemble the object on which it rests; 
said, also, to live upon air. It feeds 
upon insects, which it captures so dex- 
terously that few eyes are sharp enough 
to observe the process. Gent. II, 4, 26 ; 
Hml. Ill, 2, 98. 

changeable. Varying in color. Tw. II, 
4, 75. 

changeling. The belief that fairies were 
in the habit of carrying off human chil- 
dren and leaving their own in place of 
them was anciently common all over 
Europe, and in some countries it sur- 
vived until a comparatively recent pe- 
riod. The child was stolen before it 
was baptized; it could not be stolen 
after that. The motive which led to 
the change was that every seven years 
the fairies were compelled to sacrifice 
one of their number to the devil, and 
they tried to substitute a human child 



for one of themselves. A baptized in- 
fant the devil could not accept. It was 
always believed that certain charms 
would compel the fairies to return the 
stolen child and take back their own; 
but the most effectual way was said to 
be to close doors, windows and even the 
chimney, and then throw the fairy brat 
on the fire. Its screams would call its 
own people to its rescue, and the real 
child would be returned to its mother. 
Mids. II, 1, 22. Much has been said 
about the term changeling being here 
applied to the human child, but, of 
course, it was a changeling to the 
fairies, just as the elfin youngster was a 
changeling to the human parent. In 
this case, however, there seems to have 
been no exchange. 

chanson. A song. Hml. II, 2, 438. The 
4to of 1603 has : "the first verse of the 
godly ballet. " This explains the mod- 
ern reading. 

chape. The metal part at the end of a 
scabbard. All's. IV, 3, 164. 

chapeless. Without a chape. Shr. Ill, 
2, 48. 

chapless. The jaw being gone. Rom. 
IV, 1, 83 ; Hml. V, 1, 97. 

chapman. A dealer ; a trader ; a pedlar. 
LLL. II, 1, 16 ; Troil. IV, 1, 75. 

charact. A distinctive mark. Meas. V, 
1, 56. 

character. To write ; to inscribe. Hml. 

1, 3, 59. 

characterless. Unrecorded. Troil, III, 

2, 195. 

charactery. Writing. Wiv. V, 5, 77. 
chare, n. Work ; a piece of drudgery. 

Ant. IV, 15, 75 ; do. V, 2, 231. 
chare, vb. To do a job. AWs char''d = 

the business is finished. Kins. Ill, 2. 
charge=house. A school-house, but of 

what kind is uncertain. LLL. V, 1, 87. 

Some read church-house. 
Charles, dr. p. The Dauphin of France. 

IHVI. 
Charles VI., dr. p. King of France. HV. 
Charles, dr.}}. A wrestler. ■ As. 
Charles' wain. The constellation known 

as Ursa Major, or the G-reat Bear. Also 



CHA 



75 



CHI 



called the Dipper. See wain. IHIV. 
II, 1, 2. 

charm. To check or restrain. Shr. IV, 
2, 58 ; 2HVI. IV, 1, 64 ; 3HVI. V, 5, 31 ; 
0th. V, 2, 183. 

charmer. A sorceress. 0th. Ill, 4, 57. 

Charmian, d7\p. One of Cleopatra's 
attendants. Ant. 

charneco. A species of sweet wine. 
2HVI. II, 3, 63. 

chace ) A term of tennis-play, used 

chase. ) by Sh. as = match played at 
tennis. HV. I, 2, 266. 

Chatham, the Clerk of, dr.p. A non- 
entity in history. {Douce.) 2HVI. IV, 
2, 92. 

Chatillon, dr.p. Ambassador from 
France. John. 

chats him. The explanations given of 
this phrase are not quite satisfactory, 
but the best seems to be that of the 
Rugby Sh. " Talks Coriolanus," as we 
say a man "talks horse." Various 
emendations have been suggested ; none 
of much value. Cor. II, 1, 224. 

chaudron. Entrails. Mcb. IV, 1, 33. 

cheater, ) 1, A swindler ; a decoy. 

cheater. ) 2HIV. II, 4, 111. 
2. A corruption of escheator, an officer 
who collected the fines to be paid into 
the exchequer. In Wiv. I, 3, 76, there 
seems to be a quibble based on the two 
different meanings of the word. 

check. A term in falconry. When a 
falcon flies at a bird which is not her 
proper game, she is sa,id to check at it. 
Tw. II. 5, 125 ; III, 1, 71. 

checks. Generallj^ considered a misprint 
for ethics in Shr. I, 1, 32. 

cheer, n. Countenance ; face. Mids. Ill, 
2, 96; IHVI. I, 2, 48; Kins. I, 5. It is 
the old French word chere, defined by 
Cot. as "face, visage, countenance." 

cheer, vb. To encourage; to raise the 
spirits. Mcb. V, 3, 20. See disease. 

chequin. A zechin, or sequin ; an Italian 
gold coin worth a little more than $2. 
Per. IV, 2, 28. 

cherry=pit. A game in which cherry-pits 
are thrown into a hole. Tw. Ill, 4, 129. 

cheveril. Kid or roe-buck leather ; a 



symbol of elasticity, as in a c. glove, 
Tw. Ill, 1, 13 ; a c. conscience, HVIII. 
II, 3, 32; a c. wit, Rom. II, IV, 87. 

che vor ye. Somerset dialect for I warn 
ye. Lr. IV, 6, 246. 

chewit. A chough. IHIV. V, 1, 29. 

childed. Occurs in the following lines : 
How light and portable my pain seems 

now, 
When that which makes me bend 

makes the king bow, 
He childed as I fathered. 

Lr, in, 6. 11 r. 
The word is found nowhere else in 
Sh. Schm. gives the meaning of c/it^ded 
as "having children." The Century 
Dictionary gives "provided with or 
having a child or children, ' ' both quoting 
this passage. There are two meanings 
which may be suggested and which do 
not strain the sense : 1. To child = to 
become as a child. Lear grew more 
childlike as Edgar became stronger or 
more like a father. 2. The king seemed 
to adopt Edgar as a child in proportion 
as Edgar adopted him as a father by 
rendering son-like duty to him. 

childing. Fruitful ; prohfic. Mids. II, 1, 
112. Some have suggested that childing 
is a misprint for chilling or chiding, 
but it is now generally accepted with 
the meaning given above. 

childe. Thus in PI., but usually spelled 
child. Lr. Ill, 3, 187. Byron's " ChUde 
Harold" has made the term quite 
familiar. According to Warburton, 
vol. VI, p. 85: "In the old times of 
chivalry, the noble youths who were 
candidates for knighthood, during the 
season of their probation, were called 
Infans, Varlets, Damoysels, Bache- 
liers. The most noble of the youth, 
particularly, Infans. " Infans = chUd. 
Rowland is the same as Roland. Edgar 
evidently mixes up a ballad about the 
Child Rowland, and lines from a 
popular rhyme about Jack the Giant- 
KHler. 

childness. Childish disposition. Wint. 
I, 2, 170. 

ch'ill. I wiU. (Somerset dialect.) Lr. 
IV, 6, 239, and 247. 



CHI 



76 



CLE 



chine. The spine ; a piece of the spine 
cut for cooking. 2HVI. IV, 10, 61; 
HVIII, V, 4, 26. See mose. 

chinks. Money. Rom. I, 5, 118. So 
called from its " chinking " sound. The 
term still survives as a slang word. 

chirurgeonly. In the manner of a sur- 
geon. Tp. II, 1, 140. 

chopine. A shoe or clog with a very high 
heel. Hml. II, 2, 447. Some of these 
chopines were more like stilts than 
shoes, being 18 inches high, and when 
a lady who wore them went abroad she 
required one or two assistants to walk 
by her side and keep her from falling. 

choppy. Chopped. Mcb. I, 3, 44. 

Christendom. The state of being a Chris- 
tian. John IV, 1, 16. 

christom. Mrs. Quickly means chrisoni 
child = a chUd just christened. Infants 
dying within a month of christening 
were called chrisonis. The term is also 
applied to the face-cloth or piece of 
linen put upon the head of a child 
newly baptised. HV. II, 3, 12. 

chuck. A chicken ; a term of endear- 
ment. LLL. V, 1, 117. ; 0th. Ill, 4, 49. 

chuff. A coarse, unmannered clown, at 
once sordid and wealthy. IHIV. II, 2, 
94. 

chrysolite. Literally gold-stone — a pre- 
cious stone, evidently at one time in 
high repute amongst jewellers. Some- 
times identified with the topaz, but 
probably a very different and much 
more valuable mineral. The chrysolite 
of the modern mineralogist has no value 
as a jewel. 0th. V, 2, 145. 

Chiron, dr. p. Son of Tamora. Tit. 

Cicero, dr.p. A Roman senator. Cses. 

cincture. A belt or girdle. John IV, 
3, 155. The word is center in the folio, 
and this Schm. glosses as soul. The 
word cincture was pronounced center 
in Sh. day (R. G-. White), hence the 
mistake in spelling. 

Cinna, dr.p. A conspirator against Julius 
Caesar. Cses. 

Cinna, dr.p. A poet. Plutarch tells us 
that the populace mistook him for Cinna 
the conspirator and put hina to death. 



cinque-^pace. A lively dance, the steps 
of which were regulated by the number 
five. From the French cinq = five. 
Literally five-step. Ado. II, 1, 77. See 
sink-a-jjace. 

cipher. To decipher. Lucr. 208. 

circumstance. Phrases ; ceremony. Hml. 
I, 5, 127 ; 0th. I, 1, 13 ; 2HVI. I, 1, 105. 

cite. To call ; to incite. Gent. II, 4, 85. 

citizen. Town-bred ; effeminate. Cym. 
IV, 2, 8. . 

cittern. A guitar. LLL. V, 2, 614. The 
allusion here is to the fact that the 
cittern usually had a head grotesquely 
carved at the extremity of the neck 
and the finger-board. Nares. 

clack=dish. A wooden dish carried by 
beggars, with a movable cover, which 
they clapped and clattered to show that 
it was empty. In this they received 
the alms. Nares. Meas. Ill, 2, 135. 

Also called clap-dish, and sometimes 
jocularly applied to a woman's mouth 
from the noise it is supposed to 
make. " Widow, hold your clap-dish " 
(Greene's " Tu Quoque ") means, do not 
speak. 

clap. By itself this word has the usual 
meaning ; to clap on the shoulder was 
the sign of arrest by bailiffs, and this 
(and not a sign of applause, as is the 
usual interpretation,) is evidently the 
meaning in As. IV, 1, 48. 

clap i' the clout. To shoot an arrow 
into the bull's eye of the target. 2HIV. 
Ill, 2, 51. 

Clarence, George, Duke of, dr.p. Son of 
the Duke of York, and brother of 
Edward IV. and Richard III. 3HVI. 
and RIII. 

Clarence, Thomas, Duke of, dr.p. Son 
of Henry IV. 2HIV. 

Claudio, dr.p. Brother of Isabella, and 
condemned to death. Meas. 

Claudio, dr.p. A young Florentine lord 
in love with Hero. Ado. 

Claudius, dr.p. King of Denmark. Uncle 
and stepfather to Hamlet. Hml. 

Claudius, dr.p. Servant to Brutus. Caes. 

claw. To flatter. Ado. I, 3, 18. 

Cleomenes, dr.p. A Sicilian lord. Wint. 



CI,E 



77 



CLO 



Cleon, dr. 23. Governor of Tarsus. Per. 

Cleopatra, (ir.p. Ant. 

The Cleopatra who makes such a 
figure in history and in Sh. play was 
the daughter of Ptolemy Auletes, and 
was born 69 B.C. At the age of seven- 
teen she was left heir to the kingdom 
jointly with her younger brother, 
Ptolemy, whose wife, in accordance 
with Egyptian custom, she was to 
become. Being deprived of hei- king- 

. dom by her guardians, she withdrew 
into Syria and prepared to recover her 
kingdom by force of arms. At this 
time she met Julius Caesar, who had 
followed Pompey into Egypt, and 
Csesar, smitten with her charms, at 
once took her part, defeated the Ptole- 
my who had usurped her rights, and 
replaced her on the throne, in conjunc- 
tion with the younger brother, to whom 
she was contracted in marriage. On 
Csesar's return to Rome, Cleopatra fol- 
lowed him with her young husband, of 
whom, however, she got rid by poison, 
but on the assassination of Caesar she 
returned to Egypt. Some years before 
this she had met Antony, and made 
such a deep impression upon him that 
he followed her to Egypt, where they 
lived together in the most unbridled 
and wanton luxury. They assumed the 
names of "Osiris " and " Isis," and gave 
themselves out as divinities. War was, 
however, declared against them by Oc- 
tavianus Caesar (Augustus), and the 
rest of her history is given in the play. 
She had three children by Antony and 
a son called C^sarion by Julius Caesar. 
Caesarion was executed by order of 
Augustus. 

clepe. To call ; to name. Hml, I, 4, 19. 

Clifford, Lord, dr.p. A Lancastrian. 
2HVI. and 3HVI. 

Clifford, Young, dr.p. Son of Lord 
Clifford. 2HVL 

climature. Region. Hml. I, 1, 125. 

cling. To waste away. Mcb. V, 5, 40. 

clink. To make a ringing sound : IHIV. 
II, 4, 51 ; 0th. II, 8, 71. In the latter 
passage the "clink" is supposed to be 



made by touching mugs or glasses, as is 

even now a common fashion. 
clinquant. Grlittering ; shining. HVIIL 

I, 1, 19. 
clip. To embrace ; to enclose. 0th. Ill, 

3, 464 ; 2HVI. IV, 1, 6. 
clipper. A def acer of coin. HV. IV, 1,249. 
Clitus, dr.p. Servant to Brutus. Caes. 
closely. Secretly ; privately. John IV, 

1, 133 ; Hml. Ill, 1, 29. 

Cl3ten, dr.}}. Son of the queen, and thn 
rejected lover of Imogen. Cym. 

clothier's yard. An arrow the length 
of a clothier's yard. Lr. IV, 6, 88. 

cloud. A dark spot between the eyes of a 
horse. This gives him a sour look, and 
being supposed to indicate an ill-temper 
is regarded as a great blemish. Steevens. 
Ant. Ill, 2, 51. 

clout. 1. A rag or piece of cloth. John, 
III, 4, 58 ; RlII. I, 3, 177 ; Hml. II, 2, 
529. Schm. suggests that in Ant. IV, 
7, 6, clouts = cuffs [blows]. Surely not. 
It is true that there is a Scotch word 
clout, which signifies a blow, but here 
the word means broken heads tied up 
with cloths. 

2. The white mark fixed in the center of 
the target at which archers shot for 
practice. LLL. IV, 1, 136 ; 2HIV. Ill, 

2, 51 ; Lr. IV, 6, 92. 

Nares derives the word from the 
French clouette, which is not to be found 
in the^ ordinary French dictionaries. 
Cot. has "■ clouet, a little nayle." But 
none of the forms or combinations of 
the English word clout have any rela- 
tion to the French clou, a nail. A 
clout nail, or as Cot. has it, "a clowte 
nayle," is a nail with a very broad 
head used for nailing cloth, canvass, 
leather, and similar materials to wood, 
and cl'out, as used here, has direct re- 
ference to the purpose for which it is 
used — i.e., nailing clouts. In this case 
the small head of the common nail 
would go through the material and 
would not hold. Hunter, in his " New 
Illustrations of Shakespeare," vol. II, 
page 70, quotes the " accompts of re- 
pairs at Woodstock, in the sixth year 



CLO 



78 



coc 



of King Edward the Fourth, ' Item 
solut. Roberto Austyn pro c. cloute 
neyle pro le goters in Rosamond.' " 

The clout of the archer was a piece of 
white cloth nailed to the center of the 
butt. See hob-nail and clap. 
clouted. There is a difference of opinion 
as to whether this word signifies patched 
or studded with clout or hob-nails in 
2HVI. IV, 2, 195, and Cym. IV, 2, 214. 
In the second quotation it certainly 
means studded with nails. Arviragius 
puts off his " clouted brogues " for fear 
of making too much noise ; patched 
brogues would not make a noise, biit 
brogues studded with nails would. In 
2H VI. the order is to spare poor people — 
those whose coarse shoes, studded with 
nails, gave evidence that they were 
peasants. Surely the mere accident 
that a peasant's shoes were not patched 
would not have condemned him to 
death. The soles of the shoes of the 
upper classes were not so studded with 
nails. Hunter, to whose work we have 
already referred, quotes from Poole's 
"English Parnassus," the following 
lines referring to small-pox : 

which ploughs up flesh and biood, 
And leaves such prints of beauty if he 

come, 
As clouted shoon do upon floors of 

lome. 

Patched shoes would not leave imprints 
resembling small-pox upon floors of 
loam. That clouted sometimes means 
jyatched is undoubtedly true. See 
Joshua ix, 5. See brogue. 

clown, dr.p. Pompey, servant to Mrs. 
Overdone. Meas. 

clown, dr.p. Peste, servant to Olivia. 
Tw. 

cloy. To stroke with the claw. "An 
accustomed action with hawks and 
eagles." Steevens. Cym. V, 4, 118. 

coast. 1. To creep along the coast. Err. 
I, 1, 135 ; HVIII. Ill, 2, 38. 
2. To advance. V. and A., 870. 

coasting. Inviting ; amorous approach ; 
courtship. Troil. IV, 5, 59. In some 
eds. accostmg. 



cob=loaf. A coarse, uneven loaf with a 
round top to it. A term of contempt 
applied to a man. Troil. II, 1, 41. 

The meaning of cob is a round lump. 
Thus a cob, said of a horse, means a 
dumpy animal ; a cob-nut is a round 
nut ; a cobble-stone is a stone of a round 
form, such as is used for pavement, and 
a cobble is a boat wide in proportion to 
its length. 

cobweb. The fiber spun by spiders. 
Country people consider it an excellent 
styptic, hence Bottom's words in Mids. 
Ill, 1, 186, where, if he cut his finger, 
he will desire a cobweb to stanch the 
bleeding. 

cock. 1. A male bird. 

2. A small boat ; a cock-boat. Lr. IV, 
6, 19. 

3. A minced form of God, frequently 
used in oaths. Same as cox. Cock''s 
passion = God's passion, that is, the 
suff'erings of Christ. Shr. IV, 1, 121. 
By cock-and-jne. Wiv. I, 1, 316. An 
oath of uncertain derivation. Cock is 
supposed to stand for God (as it does 
elsewhere) and pie to mean the service 
book of the Romish Church. Dyce. 

cock=a=hoop. To cast off all restraint. 
Rom. I, 5, 85. 

cocatrice. A fabled animal, said to be 
hatched from the egg of an old cock. 
It was said to have eight feet, a crown 
on its head and a hooked and recurved 
beak. It was supposed to have such 
deadly power that it killed by the very 
glance of its eye (Rom. Ill, 2, 47) ; but 
it was also believed that the animal 
could not exercise this faculty unless it 
first perceived the object of its wrath 
before it was itself seen by it ; if first 
seen, it died. Also called the basilisk, 
q.v. 

Cockatrice was a popular name for a 
loose woman, probably from the fasci- 
nation of the eye. 

cockle. 1. The shell of the cockle (not 
mussel, as Schm. has it). Shr. IV, 3, 
166; Per. IV, 4, 2. The cockle-sheU 
was the badge of pilgrims bound for 
places beyond the sea. Hml. IV, 5, 25. 



coc 



79 



COL 



2. An obnoxious weed; the darnel. 
LLL. IV, 3, 383; Cor. Ill, 1, 70. See 
darnel. 

cockney. Both the meaning and origin 
of this word are quite uncertain. For 
a good discussion of the subject see 
" Century Dictionary." s.v. cockney. 
In Lr. II, 4, 123, it has been interpreted 
to mean cook; in Tw. IV, 1, 15, it is 
evidently intended to mean an ignorant 
person. 

cockscomb. See coxcomb. 

cockshut. A large net suspended between 
two poles, employed to catch or shut in 
woodcocks, and used chiefly in the twi- 
light ; hence it came to be used for twi- 
light. Also in the form cockshut time 
= the time for catching woodcocks — 
twilight. Some say the time when 
cocks and hens go to roost. RIII. V, 3, 70. 

Cocytus. A river in Epirus, a tributary 
of the Acheron. Like the Acheron, 
the Cocytus was supposed to be con- 
nected with the lower world, and hence 
came to be described as a river in the 
lower world, cf. Acheron. Homer 
makes the Cocytus a tributary of the 
Styx. Tit. II, 3, 236. 

cod's head. To change the cocfs head 
for the sahnon tail = to give up the 
best part of a homely thing for the 
worst part of something very fine. 
White. Oth. II, 1, 156. 

White here uses homely in the Ameri- 
can sense of inferior or ill-looking, not 
in the British sense of like home. An 
unfortunate euphemism. 

coffin. The crust of a pie. Tit. V, 2, 189. 

coign. A corner; a projecting corner- 
stone. Mcb. I, 6, 7 ; Cor. V, 4, 1. 

coil. Tumult ; turmoil ; bustle. Tp. I, 
2, 207. Shuffled off this mortal coil = 
when we have got rid of all the turmoil 
of mortality. Hml. Ill, 1, 67. 

coistrel. See coystrel. 

Colbrand. A Danish giant, whom Guy 
of WarvTlck discomfited in the presence 
of King Athelstan. Johnson. John, 
I, 1, 225 ; HVIII. V, 4, 22. 

collied. Blackened; darkened. Oth. II, 
3,206. 



collier. A term of reproach, not only 
from the black appearance of colliers, 
but from their reputation as cheats 
and swindlers. Tw. Ill, 4, 130 ; Rom. 
I, 1, 3. Collier here means seller or 
pedlar of coal rather than a miner. 
collop. A slice of flesh. ,Wint. I, 2, 137; 
IHVI. V, 4, 18. 

An old English word found in the 
" Promptorium Parvulorum " and else- 
where, and still in common use in Scot- 
land, where "minced collops " are a 
favorite dish. Schm. says, ' ' part of a 
man's flesh," but this is true only 
metaphorically, as in the text. 
Colme=kill. The cell or chapel of St. 
Columba, situated on a barren islet 
now known as Icolmkill or lona, about 
eight miles north of Staffa. Mcb. II, 
4, 33. 

Here St. Columba, an Irish Christian 
preacher, founded a monastery in A.D. 
563, and here he died about a.d. .597, or 
at the time when Augustine landed in 
Kent to convert the English. From this 
monastery in lona, Christianity and 
civilization spread, not only through 
Scotland, but even to the Orkneys and 
Iceland. Hence the island came to be 
considered holy ground, and there was a 
traditionary belief that it was to be 
specially favored at the dissolution of 
the world. According to the ancient 
prophecy, 

Seven years before that awful day 

When time shall be no more, 
A watery deluge shall o'ersweep 

Hibernia's mossy shore ; 
The green-clad Isla, too, shall sink, 

While with the great and good 
Columba' s happier isle shall rear 
Her towers above the flood. 
It is not to be wondered at that nion- 
archs desired to be buried in this sacred 
spot, and that thus it became the ceme- 
tery where, as CoUins has sung. 
The mighty kings of three fair realms 
are laid — 
Scotland, Ireland and Norway. No 
trace of their tombs now remains, the 
oldest monuments left on the island be- 
ing those of Irish ecclesiastics of the 



COL 



80 



COM 



12th century. Besides these there are 
the ruins of a chapel (of the 11th cen- 
tury), of a nunnery (founded about 
1180), and of the cathedral church of 
St. Mary, built early in the 13th cen- 
tury. Of the three hundred and fifty 
sculptured stone crosses which formerly 
adorned the island, only two are still 
standing. One is called "Maclean's 
Cross," and is a beautifully carved 
monolith, eleven feet high; the other, 
" St. Martin's Cross," is about fourteen 
feet high. All the other crosses were 
thrown into the sea, about the year 
1560, by order of the anti-Popish Synod 
of Argyll. Rolfe. 

The beautiful tribute to the ruins of 
lona by Dr. Johnson must be fresh m 
the mind of every cultivated person. 
Columbine. The Aquilegia vulgai-is. 
This was termed of old a thankless 
flower — the emblem of ingratitude, and 
also of cuckoldom on account of the 
horns of its nectaria. It was also em- 
blematical of forsaken lovers. The 
name Columbine originated in a fancied 
resemblance of its petals and sepals to 
the heads of pigeons round a dish. LLL. 
V, 2, 661; Hml. IV, 5, 180. All Ophe- 
lia's flowers seem to be emblematic of 
something, but coms. are not agreed 
as to what the columbine signified in 
this case. Perhaps iiigratitude. 
Colville, Sir John, dr. 2^- -^^ enemy to 

Henry IV. 2HIV. 
comart. Bargain ; covenant. Hml. 1, 1, 

93. In most eds. rendered covenant. 
combinate. Betrothed ; contracted ; prom- 
ised. Meas. Ill, 1, 231. 
comeddle. In most modern editions, com- 
mmgle, which means the same thing. 
Hml. Ill, 2, 74. cf. meddle. 
comfect. Comfit ; dry sweetmeat. See 

Count Comfect. 
Cominius, dr.p. A Roman general em- 
ployed against the Volscians. Cor. 
comma. The smallest break or stop. 

Hml. V, 2, 42. 
commandments. My ten command- 
ments =--■ my ten fingers ; an old slang 
expression. 2HVI. I, 3, 145. 



commodity. A quantity ; a parcel. Meas. 
IV, 3, 5 ; Tw. Ill, 1, 50. 

comonty. Slv's blunder for comedy. 
Shr. Ind. 2, i40. 

comparative, n. One who makes com- 
parisons ; a scoffer. IHIV. Ill, 2, 67. 

comparative, adj. Quick at compari- 
sons. IHIV. I, 2, 90. 

compass. The circle of the sun through 
the heavens ; a year. 0th. Ill, 4, 71. 

compassed window. A bow window. 
Troil. I, 2, 120. Perhaps a circular 
window. 

compassionate. Complaining ; asking 
for compassion. RII. I, 3, 174. 

complement. Outward form ; show ; 
ceremony. LLL. I, 1, 169. 

complexion. 1. Temperament ; natural 
disposition. Merch. Ill, 1, 32 ; Hml. I, 
4, 27. 

2. General appearance. Tp. I, 1, 32; 
Wiv. V, 5, 9 ; Hml. II, 2, 477. 

3. Color of the skin. Err. Ill, 2, 103 ; 
Ado. II, 1, 305. The passage in As. Ill, 
2, 204, Good my complexion, has puz- 
zled some. Theobald emended to odd^s 
my complexion, and Nares, perhaps 
following Ritson, asks if Rosalind does 
not mean to swear by her complexion, 
as in " Good heavens ! ' ' Referring 
back to line 192, we find Celia, after 
hinting at the presence of Orlando, 
asking: "Change you colour?" And 
now Rosalind uses to her complexion a 
form of expression found in ' ' Good my 
lord," " Good my mother," " Good my 
glass," etc., and implies that her com- 
plexion has shown her sex, and then 
claims that this is quite as it ought to be. 

comply with. To compliment ; to ofl'er 
formal courtesy. Hml. II, 2, 390 ; do. 
V, 2, 195. 

compose. To agree ; to come to an un- 
derstanding. Ant. II, 2, 15.. 

composition. Agreement ; compact. 
Meas. I, 2, 2 ; John, II, 1, 561 ; Mcb. I, 
2, 59. No composition in these news 
= no consistency or agreement in these 
statementr. 0th. I, 3, 1. 

compromise. To agree ; literally : to 
promise together. Merch. I, 3, 79. 



COM 



81 



CON 



comptible. Sensitive. Tw. I, 5, 187. 
con. 1. To give ; to acknowledge. All's. 
IV, 3, 174 ; Tim. IV, 3, 428. 
2. To learn by heart. Conned them 
out of rin gs = learned by heart the 
mottoes or posies found in rings. As. 
Ill, 2, 289. 
conceit. As found in As. V, 2, 59. Most 
commentators give the meaning as in- 
telligence ; wit. Schm. defines it as 
extraction, birth, and says : " Rosahnd, 
in order to convince Orlando of her 
pretended knowledge of mysteries, says 
to him : ' I know you are a gentleman 
of good conceit.' This cannot be = a 
gentleman of good parts, of wit ; ' for 
there needs no magician to tell him 
this.'" 
concernancy. Relation ; bearing ; im- 
port. Hml. V, 2, 128. 
conclusion. 1. An experiment. Ant. V, 
2, 856 ; Hml. Ill, 4, 195. 
2. Inference. Ant. IV, 15, 28. 
concolinel. A scrap of a song, but 
whether the beginning or the burden 
has not been determined. Some have 
claimed that it is part of an Irish song. 
LLL. Ill, 1, 3. 
concupy. A contraction of concupiscence; 

lust. Troil. V, 2, 177. 
condolement. Grief; mourning. Hml. 

1, 2, 93. 

coney, ) A rabbit. As. Ill, 2, 357 ; 
cony. S Cor. IV, 5, 226. 
coney=catch. See cony-catch. 
confirmity. A blunder of Mrs. Quickly's 

for infirmity. 2HIV. II, 4, 64. 
confound. To consume ; to waste away. 

IHIV. 1,3,100. 
congrue. To agree; to mean the same 

thing. HV. I, 2, 182; Hml. IV, 3, 

66. 
congruent. Fitting ; suitable. LLL. I, 

2, 14, and V, 1, 97. 

conger. A sea eel. 2HIV. II, 4, 266. 
Applied as a term of reproach, probably 
because the conger is known to be a 
foul-feeding, mud-loving fish. 2HIV. 

II, 4, 58. See fennel, 

conject. To guess ; to conjecture. 0th. 

III, 3, 149. 



conjunctive. Closely united. Hml. IV, 
7, 14 ; 0th. I, 3, 374. 

Conrade, dr.p. A follower of Don John. 
Ado. 

considerance. Consideration; reflection. 
2HIV. V, 2, 98. 

consideration. See carpet. 

consign. 1. To agree; to confederate. 
2HIV. V, 2, 143 ; HV. V, 2, 90. 
2. To assign ; to allot. Troil. IV, 4, 47. 

consolate. To console ; to comfort. AU's. 
Ill, 2, 131. 

consort. A number of persons or a com- 
pany, as a band of musicians. Gent. 
Ill, 2, 84. 

conspectuity. Sight. Cor. II, 1, 70. 

Constable of France, The, dr.}}. Charles 
Delabreth, or D'Albret. He was slain 
at the Battle of Agincourt. HV. 

Constance, dr.jJ. Mother of Prince Ar- 
thur. John. 

constancy. Consistency. Mids. V, 1, 26. 

constant. Firm ; unshaken. Tp. I, 2, 207. 

constantly. 1. With firmness. Caes. V, 

I, 92. 

2. Certainly ; for certain. Meas. IV, 1, 

21. 
constant=qualified. Faithful. Cym. I, 

4, 65. 
conster. To construe. So spelled in some 

editions. 
constringe. To condense ; to cramp. 

Troil. V, 2, 173. 
construe. To interpret ; to explain. Tw. 

Ill, 1, 63 ; Cses. II, 1, 307 ; 0th. IV, 1, 

102. 
consul. A Venetian senator. 0th. 1, 1, 25. 
contemptible. Contemptuous; scornful. 

Ado. II, 3, 187. 
contemptuous. Despicable ; contempti- 
ble. 2HVI. I, 3, 86. 
continent. 1. That which contains and 

encloses anything. Hml. IV, 4, 64 ; Lr. 

Ill, 2, 58; LLL. IV, 1, 111. In Mids. 

II, 1, 92 = the banks of rivers. 

2. That which is contamed; contents. 
2HIV. II, 4, 309. 
contraction. A contract. Hml. Ill, 4, 
46. In this instance, the marriage con- 
tract. This form of the word is very 
unusual, and has given occasion for 



CON 



82 



COR 



much discussion, but the meaning seems 

obvious. 
contrarious. Adverse ; contradictory. 

IHIV. V, 1, 52; Meas. IV, 1, 62. 
contrary, v. To oppose. Rom. I, 5, 87. 
contrive. 1. To conspire ; to plot. Hml. 

IV, 7, 136 ; Mids. Ill, 2, 196. 

2. To pass away the time. Shr. I, 2, 
276. Some claim that in this passage it 
means to scheme. The word generally 
has a bad sense, but not necessarily. 
Perhaps it here means simply to asso- 
ciate together. 

convent, v. 1. To summon. Meas. V, 
1.58 ; HVIII, V, 1, 52. 
2. To be convenient ; to suit. Tw. V, 391. 

convertite. A convert. Lucr. 743; John, 

V, 1, 19. 

convey. Besides the usual signification 
is cant for steal. Wiv. I, 3, 32 ; Cym. 
I, 1, 63. 

conveyance. Theft ; fraud ; trickery. 
IHVI. I, 3, 2; 3HVI. Ill, 3, 160. 

conveyer. A cheater ; a thief. RII. IV, 
1, 317. 

convict. Convicted. RIII. I, 4, 192. 

convicted. Usually defined as defeated ; 
overpowered. John, III, 4, 2. This 
word is evidently a misprint. " Con- 
vected, " " con vented, " " collected, ' ' 
and several other words have been sug- 
gested as the true reading. 

convince. To overpower ; to defeat. 
Mcb. I, 7, 64, and IV, 3, 142 ; Cym. I, 
4, 104. 

convive. To feast. Troil. IV, 5, 272. 

coney=catch. To swindle; to steal; the 
coney or rabbit being considered a very 
simple animal. Wiv. I, 1, 128, and I, 
3, 36. 

"It has been shown, from Decker's 
'English Villanies,' that the system 
of cheating, or as it is now called, 
swindling, was carried to a great length 
early in the seventeenth century ; that 
a collective society of sharpers was 
called a warren, and their dupes rab- 
bit-suckers (that is, young rabbits) or 
conies. One of their chief decoys was 
the selling goods or trash to be resold 
at a loss. They had several other terms 



of their art, all derived from the 

warren." Nares. 
In Shr. IV, 1, 45, the word is used 

to express foolery or trickery ; but this 

is not the generally accepted use of the 

term. 
cooling=card. See card. 
copatain liat. A hat with a high and 

pointed crown, like a sugar loaf. Shr. 

V, 1. 69. 
cope. V. 1. To reward; to equal; to 

meet. Merch. IV, 1, 412. 
2. To meet with ; to encounter. 0th. 

IV, 1, 87. 
cope, n. The firmament. Per. IV, 6, 132. 
copesmate. A companion. Lucr. 925. 
copped. Rising to a prominent top, head 

or cop. Per. I, 1, 101. 
copy. Copyhold ; tenure. Mcb. Ill, 2, 38. 
coragio. Courage. Tp. V, 1, 258 ; All's. 

II, 5, 96. 
coram. A Latin preposition, supposed 

by Slender to be a title. Wiv. I, 1, 6. 

ScJim. Part of a term {coram nobis) 

used in certain writs. 
R. G. White glosses it as a blunder 

for quorum. Improbable. 
coranto. A quick, lively dance. All's, 

II, 3, 49 ; Tw. I, 3, 137. 
Cordelia, dr. p. The youngest daughter 

of King Lear. Lr. 
Corin, dr. p. A shepherd. As. 
Corintli. A cant term for a disorderly 

house. Tim. II, 2, 73. 
Corinthian. A licentious person, Corinth 

having been proverbial for its immor- 
ality. In IHIV. II, 4, 13, it probably 

means a lad of mettle ; a spirited young 

fellow. 
Coriolanus, Caius Marcius, dr. p. A noble 

Roman. Cor. 
corky. Shrivelled, like the rough and 

cleft bark of the cork tree. Lr. Ill, 7, 

29. 
corn. In England this word signifies 

wheat ; in some parts of Ireland and 

Scotland, oats; in Arabia the equiva- 
lent term signifies barley ; in the United 

States, maize. See robin. 
cornuto. A cuckold. Wiv. Ill, 5, 71. 
Cornelius, dr. p. A courtier. Hml. 



COR 



83 



COTJ 



Cornelius, dr.p. A physician. Cym. 

Cornwall, Duke of, dr.p. The husband 
of Regan. Lr. 

corollary. A surplus. Tp. IV, 1, 57. 

coroner. Literally a crowner. An offi- 
cer whose original duty was to take 
charge of the property of the crown. 
Afterwards this office was confined to 
holding inquests on dead bodies. The 
word which is rendered "coroners" in 
As. IV, 1, 105, is "chronoclers " in the 
Folios. Chroniclers is retained in the 
Cambridge ed. , but coroners is the read- 
ing in the Globe and many others. 
As Schm. says : " The Sh. form of the 
word is crowner." 

corporal, adj. Corporeal. Mcb. I. 3, 81. 

corporal=of=the=field. An aide-de-camp. 
LLL. Ill, 1, 189. 

corroborate. A word used nonsensically 
by Pistol. HV. II, 1, 130. 

corrigible. 1. Docile ; submissive to cor- 
rection. Ant. IV, 14, 74. 
2. Corrective. 0th. I, 3, 329. 

corrival. A companion. IHIV. IV, 4, 
31. 

corruption. Perversion ; false represent- 
ation. HVIII. IV, 2, 71. Hml. I, 4, 
35. 

corsive. Corrosive ; irritating. IHVI. 
Ill, 3, 3. 

Costard, dr.p. A clown. LLL. 

costard. Slang for head. Lr. IV, 6, 247. 

costermonger, adj. Peddling ; mercen- 
ary. 2HIV. I, 2, 191, 

cote, n. A cottage. As. II, 4, 83. 

cote, vb. 1. To overtake; to pass. Hml. 
II, 2, 330. 

2. To quote ; to instance. LLL. IV, 3, 
87. 

Cot=quean. A man who busies himself 
with women's affairs ; a molly-coddle ; 
a cot-betty. Rom. IV. 4, 6. 

Hunter has this note on the word : 
*' A cot-quean is the wife of a faithless 
husband, and not as Johnson, who knew 
little of the language of Sh. time, ex- 
plains it, ' a man who busies himself 
about kitchen affairs. ' It occurs twice 
in Golding's translation of the story of 
Tereus. The nurse is speaking to Lady 



Capulet, and the word calls forth all 
the conversation which follows about 
jealousy." But Johnson merely fol- 
lowed Phillips' ' ' New World of Words, ' ' 
or Bailey, by both of whom it is thus 
defined. Many editors give the speech 
in which it occurs to Lady Capulet on 
the ground that the Nurse has been 
sent away for spices. But in most eds., 
including Fl, the Nurse and Lady Cap- 
ulet leave after line 12, and not before. 
Rom. IV, 4, 7. 

Count Comfect. A gallant composed of 
affectation. " A nobleman made of 
sugar." Steevens. "My Lord Lolli- 
pop." Staunton. Ado. IV, 1, 318. 

countenance, n. In addition to the 
usual significations, it means : 1. Author- 
ity ; credit. Sonn. LXXXVI, 13 ; Wiv. 
II, 2, 5 ; Lr. V, 1, 63. 
2. Fair show; specious appearance. Meas. 
V, 1, 118. 

countenance, vh. To favor ; to support. 
2HIV. IV, 1, 35 ; 2HIV. V, 1, 41. 

counter. To run counter is to mistake 
the course of the game, or to turn and 
pursue the backward trail; to draw 
dry-foot is to track by the scent of the 
foot. To run counter and draw dry- 
foot well (Err. IV, 2, 39) are therefore 
inconsistent. The jest consists in the 
ambiguity of the word counter., which 
means the wrong way in the chase and 
also a prison in London. The officer that 
arrested Antipholus was a sergeant of 
the counter. See counter-gate. 

counter. A round piece of metal used in 
calculations, and of little or no value. 
As. II, 7, 63. 

counter=caster. An accountant ; a busi- 
ness clerk and not a military man. 
0th. I, 1, 31. 

Counter=gate. The gate of the prison in 
London called Counter. Wiv. Ill, 3, 85. 

counterpoint. A counterpane. Literally 
a stitched quilt. Counterpane is a cor- 
rupted form of the word. Cot. gives, 
" Contrepointer. To quilt; to worke 
the backe stitch or to work with the 
back stitch." Shr. II. 1, 353. 

Countess of Auvergne, dr.p. IHVI. 



cou 



coz 



Count of Rousillon, dr. p. Bertram. 

All's. 

Countess of Rousillon, dr.p. Mother of 
Bertram. All's. 

county. Count ; a title ; originally near- 
ly equivalent to earl. Rom. I, 2, 68. 

couplet. A pair. Hml. V, 1, 310. The 
dove always lays two eggs for a sitting, 
and when the young are newly hatched 
the yellow down gives them a golden 
hue. 

course. In regard to Tp. I, 1, 45, Holt 
says, " The courses meant in this place 
are two of the three lowest and largest 
sails of a ship, which are so called be- 
cause, as largest, they contribute most 
to give her way through the water, 
and, consequently, enable her to feel 
her helm, and stear her course better 
than when they are not set or spread to 
the wind. " This explains the passage in 
Kins. Ill, 4. 

courser's hair. It was an old belief » 
that a horse hair when placed in water 
acquired life and became a slender 
snake. Two facts contributed to es- 
tablish this erroneous belief : 1 — When 
a horse hair is placed in water, the ab- 
sorption of moisture causes it to move, 
just as a very thin shaving will curl 
and move when laid on a damp sur- 
face; 2 — There is a peculiar parasite, 
the Gordius Aquaticus, which passes 
a portion of its life in stagnant pools, 
and which in outward appearance and 
size closely resembles the hair of a 
horse. I have met those who could not 
be convinced that they had not seen 
hairs turned into snakes. Ant. I, 2, 200. 

Court, dr. p. A soldier in army of Henrv 
V. HV. 

court=cupboard. A sort of movable side- 
board, without doors or drawers, on 
which were displayed the plate of an 
establishment — the flagons, beakers, 
cups, etc. Difce. Rom. I, 5, 8, 

court holy=water. Flattery ; fair words. 
Lr. Ill, 2, 10. Cot. gives : " Eau beniste 
de Cour. Court holie water ; comple- 
ments, f aire words, flattering speeches. " 

courtship. Courtly breeding ; elegance 



of behaviour. LLL. V, 2, 363 ; 0th. II, 
1, 171. 

cousin. Besides the usual meaning, it often 
signifies nephew or niece. Hml, I, 2, 
64. Tw. V, 1, 813. In I, 3, 1, Sir Toby 
calls Olivia his niece. Kings and princes 
usually give this title to the noblemen 
in their train. 

cousin = german. A first cousin. Troil. 
IV, 5, 121. 

covent. Convent. Meas. IV, 3, 133. 
An old form of convent, still sur- 
viving in the name Covent Garden, 
London, which was originally the 
garden of the convent at Westminster. 

cover. To lay the table for a meal. 
Mereh. Ill, 5, 65. 

cowish. Cowardly. Lr. IV, 2, 12. 

cowl=staff. A pole on which a weight is 
borne between two persons. Wiv. Ill, 
3, 156. 

cox. A minced form of God. Same as 
cock, q.v. Cox my pas.sion = by G-od's 
passion. All's. V, 2, 42. 

coxcomb. 1. A fool's cap. It was the 
fashion to decorate the head of the 
domestic fool with a comb, like that of 
a cock, and. frequently the apex of the 
hood took the form of the neck and 
the head of a cock. Shr. II, 1, 226 ; 
Lr. I, 4, 105. Shall I have a. c. of 
frizef (Wiv. V, 5, 146), = shall I 
have a fool's cap of frize ? meaning 
shall I be made a fool of by a Welsh- 
man ? — Wales being famous for this 
kind of cloth. Sometimes used for the 
head, as in Tw. V, 1, 179, where Ague- 
cheek speaks of a bloody coxcomb. 
2. A conceited fool. HV. IV, 1, 79; 
LLL. IV, 3, 84. 

coy. V. 1. To disdain. Cor. V. 1, 6. 
2. To caress. Mids. IV, 1, 2. 

coystrel. A paltry groom, one only fit 
to carry arms, not to use them ; a mean, 
paltry fellow. Tw. I, 3, 43 ; Per. IV, 
6, 176. 

cozen=Qernians. German swindlers. A 
word of Evans's making. Wiv. IV, 5, 
79. 

cozier. A botcher ; a patcher ; a cobbler. 
Tw. II, 3, 97. 



CEA 



85 



CRE 



Crab. The dog owned by Launce. Gent. 
II, 3, 5. 

crab. 1. The wild apple. It is used, 
when roasted, to flavor hot ale and as 
an ingredient in " Lambs- wool, " which 
was the favorite liquor of the gossip's 
bowl. Lambs-wool consisted of ale, 
nutmeg, sugar, toast, and roasted crabs. 
Mids. II, 1, 48. 

The crab is very sour ; hence used as 
a name for a morose person. Shr. II, 

1, 230 ; Lr. I, 5, 16. 

2. A well-known animal concerning 

which the popular idea is that it walks 

backwards. Hml. II, 2, 206. 
crab=tree. The wild apple-tree. The 

wood is noted for its great weight and 

toughness. HVIII. V, 4, 7. 
crack. 1. A flaw ; a breach. Wint. I, 

2, 322 ; 0th. II, 3, 330. 

2. A pert little boy. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 34 ; 
Cor. I, 3, 74. 
cracked within the ring. A simile taken 
from the cracking of coin, but evidently 
referring to the change of voice which 
occurs in boys at a certain age. Cal- 
decott suggests a voice broken in conse- 
quence of licentious indulgence, but 
there is no ground for this. In Sh. time 
female parts were acted by boys and 
young men {see female), and Hamlet, ac- 
costing the boy who had formerly acted 
a female part, addresses him as "my 
young lady, and mistress," and remarks 
that he has grown taller, and then 
adds: "Pray God that your voice be 
not cracked," as it is apt to be with the 
approach of manhood. This, of course, 
would have injured him for playing 
female parts. In regard to coin, Gif- 
ford, in his notes to Jonson's works, 
explains the expression thus : ' ' The 
^old coin of our ancestors Avas vei"y 
thin, and therefore liable to crack. It 
still, however, continued passable until 
the crack extended beyond the ring — 
i.e., beyond the inmost round which 
circumscribed the inscription; when it 
became unciirrent, and might be legally 
refused." Hml. II, 2, 448. c.f. The 
mannish crack. Cym. IV, 2, 236. 



cracker. A blu£,terer; swaggerer; boaster. 

John, II, 1, 147. 
crack=hemp. A rogue that deserves to 

be hanged. Shr. V, 1, 46. 
crafty = sick. Feigning illness. 2HIV. 

Ind. 37. 
crank. A winding passage. Cor. 1, 1, 141. 
cranks. Crooked streets. Kins. I, 2. 
cranking. To run winding. Ven. 692; 

IHIV. Ill, 1, 98. 
Cranmer, Thomas, dr.p. Archbishop of 

Canterbury. HVIII. 
crants. A garland carried before the 

bier of a maiden and hung over her 

grave. Hml. V, 1, 255. 
crare. A small vessel or skiff. Cym. 

IV, 2, 205. 
craven, sh. A dunghill cock, Shr. II, 

1, 228. 
craven, v. To make cowardly. Cym. 

Ill, 4, 80. 
craver. A beggar. Per. II, 1, 92. 
credent. 1. Credulous. Hml. I, 3, 30. 

2. Credible. Wint. I, 2, 142. 

3. Creditable. Meas. IV, 4, 29. 
credit. 1. Report. Tw. IV, 3, 6. 

2. Credibility. 0th. II, 1, 296. 

creek. A rivulet. Cym. IV, 2, 151. This 
word has gone entirely out of use in 
England in this sense, but is common 
in the United States. 

crescive. Growing; increasing. HV. I, 
1, 66. 

cresset. An iron cage or basket for hold- 
ing burning fuel. IHIV. Ill, 1, 15. 

Cressida, dr.}:). Daughter of Calchas. 
Troil. 

The Cressida of Chaucer and of Sh. 
play has no existence in classic legend, 
being entirely an invention of the mid- 
dle ages. Of the origin of the story 
Saintsbury gives the following account: 
" As far as can be made out, the inven- 
tion of Cressid (called by him and for 
some time afterwards, Briseida, and so 
identified with Homer's Briseis) belongs 
to Benoist de Ste. More, a trouvere of 
the 12th century, who wrote a Roman 
de Troie of great length, as well as a 
verse chronicle of Normandy. The 
story is told by Benoist in no small de- 



CRE 



86 



CRI 



tail, and the character of Briseida (which 
Dryden has entirely spoiled by making 
her faithful) is well indicated. After 
Benoist, Guido delle Colonne reproduced 
the story in a very popular Latin work, 
"The Historia Trojana." Cressid is 
here still Briseida, or rather Briseis. 
From Gruido the story passed to Boccac- 
cio, who seems himself to be responsible 
for the character of Pandarus, and from 
Boccaccio to Chaucer. See Calehas. 

crestless. Of low birth ; not dignified 
with a crest. IHVI. II, 4, 85. 

crewel. Worsted. Crewel or worsted 
garters were a cheap and common kind. 
Lr. II, 4, 7. See cruel. 

crib. A hovel. 2HIV. Ill, 1, 9. 

cribbed. Confined to a small hut. Mcb. 
Ill, 4, 24. 

cride=game, \ The expression, cry aim, 

cried game, las it occurs in Wiv. Ill, 2, 

cried I aim. ) 45, and John, II, 1, 196, 
means to encourage, to applaud (see 
aim) ; but the words, cried I aim, as 
found in Wiv. II, 3, 93, are cride-game 
in Fl, and no quite satisfactory explan- 
ation of them has yet been given. Ver- 
planck, in discussing this passage, says : 
" Halliwell, one of the most learned 
old-English scholars of his day, con- 
fesses, in his late curious edition of the 
original sketch of this play, that he can- 
not clear up the obscurity. The fact 
seems to be that the phrase having been 
merely colloquial, and not preserved in 
books, is so obsolete that the meaning 
can only be guessed at." 

Various emendations have been pro- 
posed, such as. Tried game ; Cock 'o the 
game ; Cry aim,; Curds and cream, 
and others. Cried I aim. = do I en- 
courage you ? seems as good as any. 
Ingleby thinks that it is a phrase bor- 
rowed from hare-coursing, and means : 
" Did I find the game ? " which, in this 
case, is, of course, Anne Page. But 
this requires an emendation, and if we 
emend at all we may as well do it thor- 
oughly. On this passage poor old Jack- 
son, whose ideas, though often wild, 
were frequently original, has the fol- 



lowing note, which is worth reproduc- 
ing : "Let it be considered, that the 
Host avails himself of Caius's ignorance 
of the English language, and conveys 
gross abuse under the mask of friend- 
ship. In one place he calls him Heart 
of Elder, which means a spiritless fel- 
low — the elder tree having no heart, its 
interior being all pulp. In another 
place, he gives him the genteel name of 
Monsieur Miick-water, which he in- 
terprets, valour, bully : again, — He 
ivill clajjper-claw thee tightly, bully : 
which he interprets — He will make thee 
amends. But the epithet which he 
gives him at present is even worse than 
these : the grossest he could use to a 
man going to court a young and beauti- 
ful damsel ; yet, for this, Caius's ignor- 
ance of what the other says, is such 
that he promises to procure him guests 
of the first distinction : — de good guest, 
de earl, de knight, de lords, de gentle- 
tnen, etc. , and all this for being called 
Dry'd game, i.e., an old, sapless fellow, 
in whom the animal juices that could 
create passion are extinct." And so he 
would read : I ivill bring thee where 
Mistris Anne Page is, at a Farm-house 
a Feasting : ayid thou shalt ivooe her : 
Dride-game, said Iivellf (Copied from 
Fl, with the change of a single letter). 
crisp. Curled. Tp. IV, 1, 130 ; Tim. IV, 
3, 183. Crisp heaven, alluding to the 
curled clouds. Tim. IV, 3, 183. 
Crispian, ) Crispin and Crispinian were 
Crispin. \ natives of Rome, and becom- 
ing converted to Christianity, travelled 
to Soissons, in France, in order to preach 
the gospel. Desiring to be independent, 
they worked at their trade of shoemak- 
ing and furnished shoes to the poor at 
extremely low prices. When the gov- 
ernor of the town learned that they 
maintained their Christian faith and 
tried to make proselytes, he caused them 
to be beheaded. They were canonized, 
and the 25th of October was set apart 
as their festival. The shoemakers adopt- . 
ed them as their patron saints. The 
battle of Agincourt was fought on this 



CRI 



87 



CRO 



day; hence the alkision in HV. IV, 3, 
40. 

critic. A cynic ; a carper. Troil. V, 2, 
128. 

Cromwell, Thomas, dr.p. Servant to 
Wolsey. HVIII. 

Wolsey's advice to Cromwell (HVIII, 
III, 2, 429) is known to every reader of 
Sh. The king made him Earl of Essex, 
and he became chancellor and vicar- 
general. He so far gained the confidence 
of the king that he became the monarch 's 
chief advisor, and it was mainly through 
his influence that the Church of England 
separated from the Papacy. He brought 
about the marriage of Henry with 
Anne of Cleves, but after that he fell 
into disfavour, was accused of treason, 
and beheaded July 28, 1540, 

cross. A piece of money. In old times 
most money had a cross deeply stamped 
into it so that it could be broken into 
two or four pieces, each of a propoi'tion- 
ate value. This fact gave rise to many 
puns or quibbles. LLL, I, 3, 36; As. 
II, 4, 12 ; 2HIV. I, 2, 253. 

cross. Of the passage in Hml. I, 1, 127, 
two explanations have been given : 1 — 
It was a prevalent notion that a person 
who crossed the spot on which a spectre 
or ghost was seen, became subject to 
its malign influence ; 2 — That Horatio 
expressed his intention of summoning it 
by the sign of the cross. The first is 
that which is generally accepted. 

crosses, holy. In reference to Merch. 
V, 1, 31, Knight tells us that " Crosses 
by the wayside still, as of old, bristle 
the land in Italy and sanctify the sea. 
Besides those contained in churches, 
they mark the spot where heroes were 
born, where saints rested, where travel- 
lers died. They rise on the summits of 
hills, and at the intersections of roads ; 
and there is now a shrine of Madonna 
del Mare in the midst of the sea between 
Mestre and Venice, and another between 
Venice and Palestrina, where the gon- 
dolier and the mariner cross themselves 
in passing, and whose lamp nightly 
gleams over the waters, in moonlight 



or storm. The days are past when 
pilgrims of all ranks, from the queen 
to the beggar maid, might be seen 
kneeling and praying ' for happy wed- 
lock hours,' or for whatever else lay 
nearest their hearts ; and the reverence 
of the passing traveller is now nearly 
all the homage that is paid at those 
shrines. ' ' 

crossways. The bodies of suicides not 
being admitted to burial in sanctified 
ground, were buried in crossroads as 
being a place generally marked with 
a cross and the next best place to a 
churchyard. Mids. Ill, 2, 383. See 
floods. 

cross=gartered. Wearing the garters 
crossed on the leg. The garters were 
often highly ornamented, and were 
worn in sight. Tw. II, 5, 167. See 
caddis-garter. 

cross=row. The alphabet. The alphabet 
was called the Christ-cross row, some 
say because a cross was prefixed to 
the alphabet in the old primers. Others 
derive the name from a superstitious 
custom of writing the alphabet in the 
form of a cross, by way of a charm. 
RIII. I, 1, 55. 

crow = keeper. Either a scarecrow (a 
stuffed figure) or a person employed to 
keep crows away from a newly-planted 
field. Lr. IV, 6, 88 ; Rom, I, 4, 6. 

crown. It has been suggested that the 
reference to a red-hot crown of steel in 
RIII. IV, 1, 61, may be an allusion to 
the red-hot crown sometimes employed 
as a punishment for rebels and usurpers, 
but the general trend of the passage 
does not seem to warrant this conclu- 
sion. 

crowner. See coroner. 

crownet. Coronet. Troil. Prol. 6. Ant, 
V, 2, 91, 

crown imperial. The Fritillaria im- 
per talis. A well-known liliaceous gar- 
den plant, noted for its beautiful flowers. 
Also called the crown thistle. Wint. 
IV, 3, 126. 

Of this beautiful flower the following 
pretty G-erman legend is told: "The 



CRU 



cue 



flower was originally white and erect, 
and grew in its full beauty in the garden 
of Grethsemane, where it was often 
noticed and admired by our Lord ; but 
in the night of agony, as He passed 
through the garden, all the other flowers 
bowed their heads in sorrowful adora- 
tion, the Crown Imperial alone remain- 
ing with its head unbowed — but not for 
long ; sorrow and shame took the place 
of pride ; she bent her proud head, and 
blushes of shame and tears of sorrow 
soon followed ; and so she has ever con- 
tinued, with bent head, blushing color, 
and ever-flowing tears." 

Gerard tells us that " in the bottome 
of each of the bells there is placed six 
drops of most clear, shining, sweet 
water, in taste like sugar, resembling 
in shew f aire Orient pearles, the which 
drops, if you take away, there do 
immediately appear the like ; notwith- 
standing, if they may be suff'ered to 
stand still in the floure according to his 
owne nature, they will never fall away, 
no, not if you strike the plant until it 
be broken. ' ' 

The crown imperial is easily culti- 
vated in any rich soil, and not only 
makes a fine show, but is interesting 
from its associations. 

cruel. Hard-hearted. As. IV, 3, 31. 
The passage in Lr. Ill, 7, 65, all cmiels 
else subscribe, is acknowledged to be 
inexplicable. Page upon page of at- 
tempted explanations have been offered, 
but none that is satisfactory. 

In Lr. II, 4, 7, he wears cruel garters, 
there is a quibble on the words crewel 
(worsted) and cruel, alluding to the 
stocks in which Kent's legs were placed. 
See crewel and caddis-garter. 

crusado, ]^ A Portuguese gold coin 

cruzado. \ worth about $3.50. It was 
so called because it had a cross stamped 
upon it. 0th. Ill, 4, 26. 

crush a cup. To take a drink. Rom. 
I, 2, 85. A common expression in the 
old plays. We still say "crack a 
bottle." Steevens. 

crusty. See curst and batch. 



cry, n. A company, or pack ; as a cry 
of players. Hml. Ill, 2, 289. A cry of 
curs. Cor. Ill, 3, 120. 

cry, vb. 1. To weep. Troil. II, 2, 101. 
2. To shout ; to utter in a loud voice. 
Mcb. II, 2, 22. 

To cry aim. See aim and cride- 
game. 

crystals. Eyes. HV. II, 3, 56. 

cub=drawn. Sucked by cubs until hungry 
and ravenous. Lr. Ill, 1, 12. 

cubiculo. Apartment ; lodging. Tw. 
Ill, 2, 56. 

cuckold, n. A man whose wife is false 
to him. Hml. IV, 5, 118. See Wittol. 

cuckold, vb. To treat in the same way 
that the cuckoo serves other birds, viz., 
by laying an egg in their nest. Wiv, 
III, 5, 140. 

cuckoo. 1. A bird well known in Europe ; 
the cuctdus canorus. The name is 
derived from its cry, which, as O. W. 
Holmes jokingly says, is an exact imi- 
tation of the sound made by the ordi- 
nary cuckoo-clock. The chief peculiar- 
ity which makes the bird interesting to 
readers of Sh. is its habit of laying its 
eggs in the nests of other birds, gener- 
ally smaller than itself. When the 
cuckoo eggs hatch out, the young 
cuckoo usually manages to throw out 
the young of the owner of the nest so 
that it may obtain all the food brought 
by its foster-parents. In Lr. I, 4, 236, 
the fool speaks of the hedge-sparrow 
having "it head bit off by it young," 
but this never occurs. The young 
cuckoo destroys the nestlings of its 
foster-parents by pressing them to death 
by its greater bulk and weight ; IHIV. 
V, 1 , 60. From this habit of the cuckoo, 
the bird is the symbol of cuckoldom, 
and, indeed, the source of that word. 
LLL. V, 2, 910. Hence the term slan- 
derous cuckoo. Elins. 1, 1. The cuckoo 
was one of the birds of ill-omen. 
2. A fool; a simpleton. IHIV. II, 4, 

OOi. 

cucullus non facit monachum. A hood 
does not make a monk ; and the clown 
would infer that motley does not make 



CUE 



89 



CUR 



a fool. Tw. I, 5, 62. Also Meas. V, 1, 
263. 

cue. The last words of an actor's speech 
which is the signal for the next actor 
to begin. Wiv. Ill, 3, 39; Ado. II, 1, 
316; Lr. I, 2, 147. Hence it sometimes 
means sign, hint, motive. Hml. II, 2, 
587 ; 0th. I, 2, 83. 

cuisses. Armour for the thighs. IHIV. 
IV, 1, 105. 

cullion. A mean wretch. Shr. IV, 2, 20. 

culverin. A kind of cannon; the early 
cannon bore representations of snakes 
(old French couleuvres) and other ven- 
omous reptiles, and this was probably 
the origin of the name. Some say be- 
cause it was long, like a snake, cf. bas- 
ilisk. imV. II, 3, .56. 

cunning, n. Skill, without the suggestion 
of slyness. Hml. II, 2, 461. 

cunning, adj. Skilful; knowing. Ven. 
686 ; Ado. V, 1, 234. 

Cupid. The god of love. A favorite 
deity with the poets. Referred to fifty- 
one times in the plays of Sh. 

Cupid is usually described as the son 
of Venus (Aphrodite), but various 
fathers have been assigned to him 
(Mars, Jupiter, Mercury), and some- 
times it is claimed that he had no father 
at all. He was first represented as a 
handsome youth, but in later times as 
a wanton boy of whom a thousand 
cruel tricks were related, and from 
whom neither gods nor men were safe. 
He is generally represented with golden 
wings, and his eyes are sometimes 
covered so that he acts blindly. Hence 
the allusions to blind Cupid ; Mids. I, 
1, 235; Lr. IV, 6, 141, and elsewhere. 
By the earlier poets, however, he is not 
described as blind; this was a later 
thought. His arms consist of a bow 
and arrows, which he carries in a golden 
quiver. He also bears torches which 
no one can touch with impunity. His 
arrows are of difterent powers ; some 
are golden and kindle love in the heart 
they wound ; others are blunt and heavy 
with lead, and produce aversion to a 
lover. This explains the passage in 



Mids. I, 1, 169, Cupid''s flower = 
heartsease. Mids. IV, 1, 78. See Dan; 
Dian\s bud and hare-finder. 

Curan, dr. p. A courtier. Lr. 

curb. To bend. Hml. Ill, 4, 1.55. In 
Fl. this passage reads, courb and woe 
for leave ; in the ' ' Globe ' ' and most 
other eds. the reading is c^l^b and woo. 
The original meaning of curb is to bend, 
the Middle English being courben, to 
bend ; but the word curb has now 
changed its meaning to such an extent 
that it might be well to retain the old 
spelling courb whenever the old idea is 
to be conveyed. 

curdy. To congeal. Cor. V, 3, 66. 

Curio, dr.p. An attendant on the Duke 
of lUyria. Tw. 

curious. 1. Elegant. Cym. V, 5, 362. 
2. Careful ; anxious. Cym. I, 6, 191. 

curiosity. Scrupulosity ; exactest scru- 
tiny. Lr. I, 1, 6. 

currance. Current ; flow. HV. I, 1, 34. 

currents. Occurrences. IHIV. II, 3, 58. 

curst. Cross ; ill-tempered. Ado. II, 1, 
22; Mids. Ill, 2, 300; Shr. I, 2, 128. 

The word crusty as applied to a per- 
son who has a bad temper, is simply a 
variant, by metathesis, of curst. The 
letter r is peculiarly liable to this 
change. Crusty = ill-tempered ; and 
crusty = covered with crust, as bread, 
are two entirely difterent words. See 
batch. 

curstness. Quarrelsomeness ; shrewish- 
ness. Ant. II, 2, 25. 

curtal. Having the tail cut short, as in 
dogs, or " docked," as in horses. Nares 
defines a "curtal dog" as "originally 
the dog of an unqualified person, which 
by the forest laws must have its tail 
cut short, partly as a mark, and partly 
from a notion that the tail of a dog is 
necessary in running. [Not in running, 
but in turning. A greyhound could 
not course if his tail were cut off, and 
one with a weak or light tail is sure to 
fail at the turn.] In later usage, curtal 
dog means either a common dog, not 
meant for sport, or a dog that missed 
his game. " It has the latter sense in 



CUR 



90 



CYM 



Wiv. II, 1, 114. Used of a horse in 
All's. II, 3, 65. 

curtail. Same as curtal. 

Curtis, dr. p. Servant to Petruchio. Shr. 

curtle=axe. A cutlass ; a short, slightly- 
curved sword. As. I, 3, 119. 

The word is a corruption of cutlass, 
French coutelas. The weapon was not 
an axe, and had no relation to that 
implement. In Fl. the word is cur- 
telax. 

cushes. The old form of cuisses. q.v. 

cushion. A kind of sack or bag stuffed 
for a seat. From the casque to the 
cushion = from war to peace. Cor. 
IV, 7, 43. 

custalorum. Shallow's corruption of 
Gustos Rotulortim, the Keeper of the 
Rolls or records of the session, and the 
chief civil officer of the county. Wiv. 
I, 1, 7. 

custard. Like him that leaped into the 
custard. All's. II, 5, 41. "It was a 
foolery practised at city entertainments, 
while the jester or zany was in vogue, 
for him to jump into a large deep 
custard, set for the purpose, ' to set on 
a quantity of barren spectators to 
laugh,' as our poet says in his Hamlet." 
Theobald. 

custard^coffin. The upper crust covering 
a custard-pie. Shr. IV, 3, 82. 

customer. A prostitute. AU's. V, 3, 
287 ; 0th. IV, 1, 123. 

cut. A horse. IHIV. II, 1, 6 ; Tw. II, 
3, 203 ; Kins. Ill, 4. 

That the word was a common name 
for a horse is very evident. In the old 
ballad, "The Pynning of the Basket," 
we read : " He spurred his cutte. " As 
to whether the word had reference to 
the docking of the tail or to gelding, the 
coms. are not agreed. Sir Toby's re- 
mark may mean merely ' ' call me horse, ' ' 
or it may have had a more offensive 
intimation. 

cut and longtail. All kinds. Dogs wuth 
cut tails {see curtal) were of the lowest 
degree ; long tail dogs, used for hunting, 
were the first of their kind, and the 
expression as a whole includes all kinds 



of dogs. Used metaphorically of men. 
Wiv. Ill, 4, 47. 

cuttle. Evidently means a swaggerer or 
swash-buckler. Perhaps a misprint for 
cutter, or perhaps a specimen of Doll's 
"frittering" of English. Cot. has 
'■^ taille-hras : a hackster, arme-slasher, 
cutter, swaggerer, swash - buckler. " 
Sometimes defined as the slang name 
for the knife used by cut-purses, but 
this does not seem quite appropriate in 
the only passage in which it occurs in 
Sh. 2HIV. II, 4, 139. 

Halliwell tells us that a foul-mouthed 
fellow was called a cuttle, in reference 
to the habit of the cuttle-fish which, 
when pursued, ejects an inky and black 
juice that fouls the water. But this, I 
am afraid, is too far-fetched to be 
accurate. 

Cyclopes. The meaning of this name is 
"round-eyed," and they were said to 
be of gigantic size, and to have a single, 
large, round eye in the center of the 
forehead. Various accounts are given 
of their origin and habits, but the story 
to which Sh. refers in Hml. II, 2, 511, 
is the later tradition, in which they are 
represented as the assistants of Vulcan 
who used the principal volcanoes as 
their workshops. They made the 
metal armour and arms for gods and 
heroes. According to the earlier tra- 
dition, they were three in number, 
and were killed by Apollo because they 
supplied Jupiter with the thunderbolts 
with which he killed ^sculapius. 

Cymbeline, dr.p. King of Britain. 
Cym. 

cyme. The identity of this purgative 
drug has never been fully decided. The 
word is cyme in Fl. and in most edi- 
tions, but in F4. the reading is senna, 
and this has been followed by many. 
The old spelling of senna was sene or 
scene. Ingleby, in his " Hermeneutics," 
p. 35, thinks that by cyme is meant the 
sprouts of the colewort, of which an old 
name is cyma, and which was known 
to be a gentle laxative. But what Mcb. 
wanted was a violent cathartic that 



CYN 



91 



D^D 



would "scour these English hence," 
not a mild, laxative. Mcb. V, 3, 55. 

cynic. A snarler ; so called after the 
Greek word for a dog. The term is 
applied not only to a follower of Antis- 
thenes and his pupil Diogenes, but to 
any habitual sna rling fault-finder. Caes . 
IV, 3, 133. 

Cynthia. A poetical name of Diana, the 
goddess of the moon and of chastity. 
Hence used as a name for the moon 
itself. The names Cynthia (Diana) and 
Cynthius (Apollo) are derived from 
Mount Cynthus in the island of Delos, 
which was their birthplace. 

cypress, ) Crape. Wint. IV, 4, 221. 

Cyprus, f Tw. Ill, 1, 132. 

It is claimed with much reason that 
in Tw. II, 4, 53, cypress means a coflSn 
made of cypress wood, and not a shroud 
or wrapping of crape. A few lines 
lower down, the shroud is expressly 
mentioned by itself. Cypress wood 
was a favourite material for coffins 
owing to its durability when laid in the 
ground, and it is very likely that 
cypress here means wood, while in other 
passages it means crape, as certainly in 
Wint. IV, 4, 221. 

Cyrus. The Cyrus referred to in HVI. 



II, 3, 6, was Cyrus, the elder, the son 
of Cambyses, and King of Persia. His 
grandfather, Astyages, having dreamed 
that his unborn grandson should be 
ruler of Asia, gave the child, as soon as 
born, to his confidential attendant, 
Harpagus, with orders to kill it. Instead, 
however, he was reared as the son of 
a herdsman, and the story of the re- 
velation of his real parentage is deeply 
interesting, but too long for our pages. 
He dethroned his grandfather, con- 
quered the Babylonians, and attempted 
the subjugation of the Massagetse, a 
Scythian people, who defeated and slew 
him. Their queen, Tomyris, cut off his 
head and threw it into a bag filled with 
human blood so that he might satiate 
himself (as she said) with gore. 
Cytherea. Venus or Aphrodite. She 
was so called after a mountainous 
island off the south-western point of 
Laconia. Into this island the Phoeni- 
cians introduced her worship, and for 
this it became celebrated. According 
to some traditions it was in the neigh- 
bourhood of this island that she first 
rose from the foam of the sea. Shr. 
Ind. II, 53 ; Wint. IV, 4, 122 ; Cym. II, 
2, 14. 




/EDALUS. A mythical person- 
age, under whose name the 
Greek vsaiters personified the 
earliest development of the 
arts. The name itself implies skill, 
and the earliest works of art which 
were attributed to the gods were called 
daidala. Daedalus was the reputed 
inventor of the saw, the axe, the plumb- 
line, the augur or gimlet and glue. He 
was said to have been taught the art of 
carpentry by Minerva. He instructed 
his sister's son, Calos, Talus, or Perdrix, 



who soon came to surpass him in skill 
and ingenuity, and Daedalus killed him 
through envy. Being condemned to 
death for this murder he fled to Crete, 
where the fame of his skill obtained for 
him the friendship of Minos, but when 
Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, gave birth 
to a monster (the Minotaur) Daedalus, 
who aided Pasiphae, was imprisoned. 
Pasiphae released him, and as Minos 
had seized all the ships on the coast of 
Crete, Daedalus made wings for himself 
and his son Icarus, fastening them on 



DAP 



S2 



DAB 



with wax. Daedalus himself flew safely 
over the -^Egean, but as Icarus flew 
too near the sun, the wax by which his 
wings were fastened on was melted, 
and he dropped down and was drowned 
in that part of the ^gean which was 
called after him the Icarian Sea. 3H VI. 
V, 6, 21 ; IHVI. IV, 6, 54. 

daff. 1. To put off. A variant of doff. 
0th. IV, 2, 176 ; Compl. 297. 
2. To push ; to turn aside. Ado. II, 3, 
176 ; IHIV. IV, 1, 96. 

dagger of lath. See Vice. 

Dagonet, Sir. A fool at the court of 
King Arthur. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 303. 

Arthur " loved him passing well, and 
made him knight with his own hands." 
The courtiers played all manner of 
tricks on him. On one occasion they 
persuaded him to attack Mark, King 
of Cornwall, who was in reality an 
arrant coward. Mark, supposing him 
to be Lancelot of the Lake, ran awaj^, 
but met another knight, who at once 
attacked Dagonet and tumbled him 
from his horse. For other tricks and a 
full discussion of the Arthur's show see 
Dyce's " Glossary. " See also Arthur'' s 
Shoiv, ante, p. 45. 

damask. 1. Of a pink color, like the 
damask rose. Cor. II, 1, 232. 
2. Having the colors mingled. LLL. 
V, 2, 296; Tw. 11,4, 11.5. 

Damascus. Damascus was supposed to 
be the place where Cain slew Abel. 
Hence the allusion in IHVI. 1, 3, 39. In 
regard to this passage Ritson quotes 
" Polychronicon, " Fol. XII: "Damas- 
cus is as moche to say as shedynge of 
blood. For there Chaym slowe Abell 
and hidde hym in the sonde. ' ' 

damn. To condemn. Caes. IV, 1, 6. 

Dan. Lord ; master. A corruption of 
Dominus. (Dyce.) Dan Cupid = Master 
Cupid. LLL. Ill, 1, 182. 

Daniel. The allusion in Merch. IV, 1, 
223, is to the story of Susannah and the 
elders in "The Apocrypha." She was 
the wife of Joiachim, and being accused 
of adultery was condemned to death. 
*' But the Lord raised up the holy spirit 



of a young youth, whose name was 
Daniel," who proved her innocence 
and turned the tables on her accusers, 
who were put to death instead. 

dancing horse. A performing horse 
belonging to one Bankes, a Scotchman. 
LLL. I, 2, .58. See horse. 

dancing rapier. A sword worn only for 
di'ess occasions. Tit. II, 1, 39. 

danger. 1. Power; reach. Merch. IV, 

1, 180. You stand within his danger 
== under obligation to him. 

2. Pern ; hazard. Tw. V, 1, 87. 

dank. Damp. IHIV. II, 1, 9. 

Dansker. A Dane. Hml. II, 1, 7. 

Daphne. A beautiful maiden beloved by 
Apollo and Leucippus, both of whose 
suits she rejected. In order to win 
her, Leucippus disguised himself as a 
maiden, but Apollo's jealousy caused 
his disco\ ery, and he was killed by the 
companions of Daphne. Apollo now 
pursued Daphne, and she was on the 
point of being overtaken by him when 
she prayed for aid and was metamor- 
phosed into a laurel-tree, which became, 
in consequence, the favourite tree of 
Apollo, and of the boughs of which he 
made himself a wreath. Shr. Ind. II, 
59 ; Mids. II, 1, 231 ; Troil. I, 1, 101. 

Dardanian. Trojan, the name being 
derived from Dardanus, the mythical 
ancestor of the Trojans and through 
them of the Romans. Merch. Ill, 2, 58. 
cf. Lucr. 1428-1436. 

Dardanius, dr.p. Servant to Brutus. 
Caes. 

dare, n. Boldness. IHIV. IV, 1, 78. 

dare. To terrify. In this sense it is a 
term in falconry where the game is 
afraid to rise for fear of the hawk. H V. 
IV, 2, 36. For larks and small birds 
mirrors and pieces of scarlet cloth were 
used. This is referred to in HVIII. Ill, 

2, 282, where the allusion evidently is 
to the scarlet hat of the cardinal. 

The passage in Meas. IV, 4, 26, has 
given rise to much discussion. 

But that her tender shame 
Will not proclaim against her maiden 
loss 



DAE 



93 



DAY 



How she might tongue me 1 Yet 

reason dares her no ; 
For my authority bears of a credent 

bulk, etc., etc. 

It is impossible to make sense of these 
lines, punctuate them how you will, 
and all ways have been tried, as well 
as other conjectural emendations. 
White suggests dares her on, but this 
does not quite meet the case. But if 
we change the letter n in no to at all 
difficulty vanishes. Yet reason dares 
her to, i. e. , to tongue me. As the box 
containing the n's in the printer's case 
is just above that containing the f 's, it 
was easy for an n to slip into the t box 
and so cause this confusion. 
Darius. The rich-jeivelVd coffer of Da- 
rius. IHVI. I, 6, 25. " When Alexan- 
der the Great took the city Gaza, the 
metropolis of Syria, amidst the other 
spoUs and wealth of Darius treasured 
up there, he found an exceeding rich 
and beautiful little chest or casket. 
Having surveyed the singular rarity of 
it, and asked those about him what they 
thought fittest to be laid up in it ; when 
they had severally delivered their opin- 
ions, he told them, he esteemed nothing 
so worthy to be preserved in it as Ho- 
mer's Iliads." Malone. By day this 
casket and its contents were carried 
with him, and at night the poems were 
laid under his pillow. 
darker. More secret; less known. Lr. 

I, 1, 37. 
dark house. A mad house ; sometimes a 
darkened room for confining madmen. 
Err. IV, 4, 97 ; As. Ill, 2, 421 ; Tw. Ill, 
4, 148 ; All's. II, 3, 309. 
darkling. In the dark. Mids. II, 2, 86 ; 

Lr. I, 4, 237. 
darnel. This name seems to have been 
applied to any hurtful weed especially 
to those growing amongst corn. HV. 
V, 2, 45; Lr. IV, 4, 50. By darnel, bot- 
anists generally understand Lolium Te- 
mulentum. According to the old herb- 
ahsts, darnel, when it got into bread or 
drink, was injurious to the eyes, caus- 
ing temporary blindness. Steevens sug- 



gests that this is alluded to in IHVI. 
Ill, 2, 44, where La Pucelle intimates 
that the corn she carried with her had 
produced this effect on the guards of 
Rouen, otherwise they would have seen 
through her disguise and defeated her 
stratagem. 

darraign. To set in array; to range. 
3HVI. II, 2, 72. 

dash. n. A stigma; mark of infamy. 
Wint. V, 2, 127 ; Lucr. 206. 

"In the books of heraldry a particular 
mark of disgrace is mentioned, by which 
the escutcheons of those persons were 
anciently distinguished who discourt- 
eously used a widow, maid or wife 
against her will. " Malone. 

dash. vb. To frustrate; to set aside. 
LLL. V, 2, 462 ; 3HVI. II, 1, 118. 

daub. 1. To smear ; to color. IHIV. I, 
1,6. 

2. To disguise ; to counterfeit. Lr. IV, 
1, 54. 

daubery. Imposition ; a crude, but art- 
ful trick. Wiv. IV, 2, 186. 

daughter=beamed. A quibble on sun- 
beamed (son-beamed). LLL. V, 2, 171. 
cf. 3HVI. II, 1, 41. 

Dauphin. The eldest son of the King of 
France, and heir - apparent to the 
crown. He bore on his crest three 
dolphins, and in Sh. time the word was 
generally spelled Dolphin. In IHVI. 

I, 4, 107, there is a pun on the word 
as meaning both the prince and a fish. 
See dolphin. 

Dauphin, Louis, the, dr. p. John. See 

Melun. 
Davy, dr.p. Servant to Shallow. 2HIV. 
day = bed. A sofa ; a lounge. Tw. II, 

5, 54. 
daylight, to burn. To waste time. Wiv. 

II, 1, 54 ; Rom. I, 4, 43. 
day-woman. A dairy-maid. LLL. I, 3, 

136. Schm. defines the word as "a 
woman hired by the day," which is 
clearly wrong. The word is well known, 
and is used by Scott as = dairy-maid in 
" The Fair Maid of Perth." 

Our word dairy "is hybrid, being 
made by suflBxing the French erie to 



DEA 



94 



DEL 



to the Middle English deye, a maid, a 
female servant, especially a dairy- 
maid." Skeat. 
dead-killing. Deadly. Lucr. 540 ; RIII. 

IV, 1, 36. 

dear. In Sh. time this word not only 
had the sense of highly-esteemed, as 
IHIV. V, 4, 108; beloved, as in Tp. I, 
2, 17 ; of great price as in RII. V, 5, 
68 ; and Hml. II, 2, 282 ; but of intense, 
excessive, superlative, whether used in 
a good or a bad sense. Thus dearest 
foe = bitterest foe (Hml. I, 2, 182) ; 
dearest speed = greatest speed (IHIV. 

V, 5, 36) ; dear peril = great peril 
(Tim. V, 2, 231). The same is true in 
regard to dearly, q.v. The origin of 
these various meanings has given rise 
to much discussion. The reader who 
desires to study the subject thoroughly 
would do well to consult Dr. Furness's 
Var. ed. of Romeo and Juliefc under the 
sentence, / must use In dear employ- 
ment. Act V. 3, 32. 

dearly. Grievously ; bitterly. Err. II, 

2, 132; Hml. IV, 3, 43; As. I, 3, 35. 
How dearly ever parted = however 
excellently endowed. Troil. Ill, 3, 96. 
See dear and parted. 

dearn. 1. Lonely. Per. III. , Prol. 15. 
2. Dreadful. Lr. Ill, 7. 63. 
death. See funeral. 
death=tokens. Plague spots. Troil. II, 

3, 189. See tokeyi'd. 
debile. Weak. All's. II, 3, 39. 
Deborah. A Jewish heroine. In regard 

to the sword of Deborah (IHVI. I, 2, 
105) there is no record of her evei* hav- 
ing used a sword. 

decent. Becoming. HVIII. IV, 2, 146. 

Decius Brutus. See Brutus, Decius. 

deck. A pack of cards. 3HVI. V, 1, 44. 
This word was in use in England in 
Sh. time, but became obsolete except as 
slang. It was undoubtedly brought to 
this country by the first settlers, and 
like many others which have gone out 
of use in England it stiU survives here, 
and is called " an Anaericanism ! " See 
Bartlett's ' ' Dictionary. " 

deck. To bedew. Probably a form of the 



verb to dag or deg, now a provincial 
word meaning to sprinkle. Tp. I, 2, 155. 
decline. To consider ; to recount ; to go 
over carefully. The word is still used 
in this sense in grammar as in going 
through the cases of a noun. RIII. IV, 

4, 97 ; Troil. II, 3, 55. 

deedless. Inactive. Troil. IV, 4, 59. 
deem. Idea ; thought. Troil. IV, 4, 61. 
deep=fet. Deep-fetched. 2HVI. II, 4, 33. 
defeat. 1. To disfigure. 0th. I, 3, 346. 
2. To destroy. Hml. I, 2, 10 ; 0th. IV, 

2, 160. 
defeature. Disfigurement. Err. II, 1, 

98 ; do. V, 1, 299. 
defence. The art of fencing. Hml. IV, 

7,98. 
defend. To prohibit ; to forbid. Ado. IV, 

2, 21 ; IHIV. IV, 3, 38. 
In Sh. time this word had the double 

meaning of protecting and prohibiting, 

as is now the case with the French word 

defendre. 
defensible. Able to fight; having the 

power to defend. 2HIV. II, 3, 38. 
defunction. Death. HV. I, 2, 58. 
defunctive. Funereal. Phoen. 14, 
defuse. To make uncouth or irregular. 

Lr. I, 4, 2. 
In some of the old copies defuse is 

used instead of diffuse in some passages. 

See diffused. 
defused. Deformed ; shapeless. RIII. 

I, 2, 78. 
defy. To renounce; to despise. Tw. I, 

5, 133 ; IHIV. IV, 1, 6. 

degree. A step or round of a staircase or 
ladder. Cses. II, 1, 26. 

Deiphobus, dr. p. Son of Priam. Troil. 

delation. A conveying ; imparting. Close 
delations = hidden intimations. 0th. 
Ill, 3, 123. 

delighted. 1. DeUghtful. 0th. 1,3,291; 
Gym. V, 4, 102. 
2. As it occurs in Meas. Ill, 1, 119, the 
word has given rise to considerable dis- 
cussion. The usual meanings fit so 
poorly with the general sense of the 
passage that various words have been 
suggested as the correct reading : be- 
nighted, dilated, delinquent, etc 



DEL 



95 



DEN 



Schm. interprets it as " having the 
power of giving delight ;" others, 
" framed for delight," which meets the 
sense. It has also been suggested that 
Sh. used the word in its etymological 
sense (as he does many other words) , and 
that in this instance it is de-lighted = 
deprived of light. 

deliverly. Neatly ; adroitly. Elins. Ill, 5. 

Delphos or Delphi. A small town in 
Greece, but one of the most celebrated 
on account of its being the seat of the 
oracle of Apollo. The modern name is 
Kastri. It is situated six miles from 
the Corinthian Gulf, at the foot of 
Mount Parnassus. Sh. evidently sup- 
posed that it was an island. Wint. Ill, 
1,2. In this he followed Greene, in whose 
novel, "Pandosto, the Triumph of 
Time" (1.588), afterwards published 
under the title of ' ' The Pleasaunt and 
Delightful History of Dorastus and 
Fawnia" (1588), the queen desires the 
king to send six of his noblemen, whom 
he best trusted, to the isle of Delphos." 
It has been suggested that Greene 
confounded Delphi ("Delphos") with 
Delos, the island which was the birth- 
place of Apollo and his sister Artemis 
or Diana. In "Pandosto" Sh. found 
the plot of "The Winter's Tale." 
Delphi was regarded as the central 
point of the whole earth and hence was 
called "the navel of the earth." It 
was said that two eagles sent forth by 
Jupiter, one from the east and one from 
the west, met at Delphi at exactly the 
same time. Besides the great temple 
of Apollo, it contained numerous sanc- 
tuaries, statues, and other works of 
art. The temple contained immense 
treasures ; for not only were rich offer- 
ings presented to it by kings and private 
persons, who had received favorable 
replies from the oracle, but many of 
the Greek states had in the temple 
separate thesauri, in which they de- 
posited, for the sake of security, many 
of their valuable treasures. Xerxes 
attempted to take possession of these 
treasures, and was defeated, but they 



were ultimately seized by various suc- 
cessful robbers. In 1893 the French 
began to excavate the site of the temple 
and its surroundings, and great hopes 
are entertained that important dis- 
coveries will soon be made. See Oracle. 
demerit. This word " was formerly 
synonymous with merit and that sense 
was more classical than the contrary, 
which has since prevailed, demereo 
being even stronger than ynereo.'''' 
Nares. It is used in the sense of 
"merits" or "deservings" in Cor. I, 

1, 276 ; Obh. I, 2, 22, and elsewhere. 
Our present sense of the word comes 
from the Fi-ench, and both appear to 
have been upon the change about the 
time of Elizabeth. 

Demetrius, dr.p. A friend of Anthony. 
Ant. 

Demetrius, dr.p. Hermia's lover. Mids. 

Demetrius, d?'.j:>. A son of Tamora. Tit. 

demi=AtIas. Half an Atlas, bearing half 
the world. Ant. I, 5, 23. See Atlas. 

demi=cannon. A kind of ordnance. Shr. 
IV, 3, 88. 

demi=natured. Sharing the nature of ; 
half grown together. Hml. IV, 7, 88. 

demi>=puppets. In regard to this expres- 
sion Furness says : " There must have 
been some reason for the use of ' demy, ' 
but what it is I cannot say." To define 
it as " half a puppet " throws no light 
whatever on the meaning. The only 
idea that suggests itself to me is that 
Sh. meant to indicate the very small 
size of the fairies that dance in these 
fairy rings (see Mids. Ill, 1), demi be- 
ing used in a general sense for small. 

demi=wolves. A cross between dogs and 
wolves, like the Latin lycisci, John- 
son. Mcb. Ill, 1, 94. 

demurely. Solemnly. Ant. IV, 9, 31. 

demuring. Looking demurely. Ant. IV, 
15, 29, 

den. An abbreviation for evening. Rom. 
II, 4, 116. 

denay. Denial. Tw. II, 4, 127. 

denier. A s^ery small piece of money; 
the 12th part of a French sol. RIII. I, 

2, 252 ; Shr. Ind. I, 9. 



LEN 



96 



DIA. 



Dennis, d7\p. Servant to Oliver. As. 

Denny, Sir Anthony, dr.p. HVIII. 

depart, n. Death. 3HVI. II, 1, 110. 

depart, vb. To part ; to separate. 3HVI. 
II, 6, 43 ; Tim. I, 1, 263. 

depend. To be in service. Lr. I, 4, 271. 

depending. See brands. 

depose. To put under oath. RII. I, 3, 30. 

deprave. To slander; to detract from. 
Tim. I, 2, 145. 

depravation. Detraction. Troil. V, 2, 
132. 

deputation. That to which one has been 
deputed or appointed. Thy topless 
deputation he ]3%its on (Troil. I, 3, 
152) means that he imitates you in the 
supreme position to which you have 
been deputed or appointed. See topless. 

deracinate. To extirpate. HV. V, 2, 47. 

Dercetas, dr.p. A friend to Anthony. 
Ant. 

derogate. Corrupt ; depraved. Lr. I, 4, 
302. 

dern. ^ee dearn. 

descending. Lineage. Per, V, 1, 130. 

Desdemona, dr.p. Daughter of Braban- 
tio and wife to Othello. 0th. 

despatch, ) To deprive ; to rob. Hml. 

dispatch. \ I, 5, 78. 

despised time. My despised time = my 
miserable old age. 0th. I, 1, 162. 

detect. To charge ; to blame. Meas. Ill, 
2, 130; 3HVI. 11,2, 143. 

determine. To end; to conclude. Cor. 
111,3,43; do. V, 3,120. 

Deucalion. The Noah of the Greeks. He 
was the son of Prometheus and Cly- 
mene, and when Zeus, after the treat- 
ment he had received from Lycaon, had 
resolved to destroy the human race, 
Deucalion, on the advice of his father, 
built a ship and stored it with provi- 
sions, so that when Zeus sent a flood all 
over Hellas, which destroyed its in- 
habitants, Deucalion and Pyrrha, his 
mf e, alone were saved. After floating 
about for nine days, the ship landed on 
Mount Parnassus. Wint. IV, 4, 442; 
Cor. II, 1, 102. 
deuce=ace. One and two thrown at dice. 
LLL. I, 2, 49. 



devest. To undress. 0th. II, 3, 183. 

dewberry. The fruit of the Rubus 
Coisius. This plant grows on the 
borders of fields and on the banks of 
hedges and ditches. It generally grows 
close to the ground ; the fruit is ripe in 
September, and is very pleasant to the 
taste. Mids. Ill, 1, 173. 

dew=lap. Flesh or skin hanging loosely 
from the throat. Mids. IV, 1, 127 ; do. 
II, 1, 50. Schm., in the latter quotation, 
explains the word as ' ' hanging breasts, " 
which is certainly wrong. It means 
simply a double chin. 

In Tp, III, 3, 46, the passage, mount- 
aineers Dew-lapp'' d like bulls, evidently 
refers to persons afflicted with goitre, 
a disease common in Switzerland and 
some other mountainous countries. 

Diana, dr.p. Daughter of a widow in 
Florence. All's. 

Diana, dr.p. The goddess ; she appears 
in a vision. Per. 

Diana was an ancient Italian divinity, 
whom the Romans identified with the 
Greek Artemis. Hence she was said to 
be the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, 
and the twin sister of Apollo, and as 
Apollo was the god of the sun, so Diana 
represented the moon. As sister of 
Apollo, Diana is armed with bow, 
arrows and quiver, and is the goddess 
of hunting. In the Trojan war she 
sided with the Trojans. She is the 
virgin goddess, never conquered by 
love. She slew Orion because he made 
an attempt upon her chastity, and 
she changed Actaeon into a stag and 
had him torn to pieces with his own 
hounds, merely because he accidentally 
obtained a view of her while she was 
bathing. 

Diana, being goddess of the moon, 
has also been identified with Selene, 
but the two characters do not harmonize 
very well together. Hee Endymion. At 
a later period she was identified with 
Hecate (q.v.), a mysterious divinity, 
whose threefold character has led some 
to suppose that it was to this that Sh. 
referred in the passage : And thou. 



DIA 



dt 



DIE 



thrice-croicned queen of niglit, As. 
Ill, 2, 2. In the classics she is often 
spoken of as ''triple." Johnson ex- 
plains the expression as "alluding to 
the triple character of Proserpine, 
Cynthia, and Diana, given by some 
mythologists to the same Goddress." 
Dian's buds. The buds of Agnus Castus, 
or Chaste Tree. Mids. IV, 1, 78. 

An old herbal tells us that "the 
vertue of this herbe is that he wyll 
kepe man and woman chaste. ' ' Chaucer, 
in " The Flower and the Leaf," has the 
following lines : 

" See ye not her that crowned is," 
quoth she, 

"All in white ?"—" Madame," quoth 
I, "yes," 

" That is Diane, goddess of chastite. 

And for because that she a maiden is, 

In her hond the braunch she beareth 
this, 

That agnus castus men call properly ; 

And all the ladies in her company. 

Which ye se of that hearbe chaplets 

wears. 
Be such as ban kept alway hir maiden- 
head." 

dich. A corruption of do it. Tim. 1, 2, 73, 

Dick, dr. p. A butcher ; a follower of 
Jack Cade. 2HVI. 

dickens. A mincing word for devil. 
Wiv. Ill, 2, 19. 

Dido. The reputed founder of the ancient 
city of Carthage, built where Tunis 
now stands. She was the daughter of 
Belus, Eang of Tyre, and the sister of 
Pygmalion, who succeeded to the crown 
after the death of his father. She 
was married to her uncle, Acerbas or 
SichsBus, a priest of Hercules, who was 
very wealthy. Pygmalion, coveting 
his wealth, murdered him. Dido then 
secretly fled to the north coast of Africa, 
where she purchased as much land as 
could be encircled by a bull's hide. By 
cutting the hide into exceedingly thin 
strips, she surrounded a space on which 
she was able to build a strong citadel, 
which was called Byrsa — the Greek 
name for a bull's hide. Here she 
reigned for some years until a neigh- 



bouring king demanded her hand in 
marriage, and on her refusal threat- 
ened war. To escape a fate which was 
odious to her, she erected a funeral pile 
on which she stabbed herself in the 
presence of her people. 

All this occurred three hundred years 
after the capture of Troy, but Virgil 
makes ^neas contemporary with Dido, 
who faUs in love with him under the 
influence of Cupid, who assumed the 
form of Ascanius (q.v.) for this pur- 
pose. Tp. II, 1, 76 ; Merch. V, 1, 9 ; Tit. 
V, 3, 82. 

die. To kiU. As. Ill, 5, 7. 

diet. The usual meaning is food ; and in 
most cases it refers to the restricted 
quantity and kind of food given in 
sickness and convalescence. A popu- 
lar, though erroneous, etymology of 
the word connected it with the Latin 
dies, a day, especially a set day, 
and it may be that this idea con- 
trolled its use in All's. IV, 3, 35, 
where Parolles is said to be dieted to 
his hour, i.e., strictly bound to his 
appointment. In the same play, V, 3, 
221, You, that have ttirned off a first 
so noble wife, May justly diet me, is a 
passage that has puzzled the coms. 
Malone explains it thus: "may justly 
loathe or be weary of me, as people 
generally are of a regimen or prescribed 
and scanty diet." Steevens thinks diet 
me == deny me the rights of a wife. 
Marshall, the ed. of "The Henry Ir- 
ving Shakespeare," explained it thus: 
" You may prescribe rules for me and 
give me just as much or as little as you 
please." None of these explanations is 
very satisfactory, and while I dislike 
conjectural emendations, may not diet 
be a misprint for do it ? The reading 
then would be : You that have turned 
off a first so noble wife, may justly 
do it me. That is : May serve me in 

• just the same manner, the to being 
omitted, as it frequently is in similar 
passages in Shakespeare. 

Dieu. French for God. Occurs in vari- 
ous passages. See mort. 



DIE 



98 



BIS 



Dieu de batailles. Grod of battles. (Fr. ) 
Not quoted from the scriptures as some 
would have us believe. HV. Ill, 5, 15. 

diffuse. To confuse. Lr. I, 4, 3. 

diffused. Wild ; confused ; uncouth. Wiv. 

IV, 4, 54; HV. V, 2, 61. See defuse, 
difference. A term in heraldry. Clark, 

in his "Introduction to Heraldry," 
defines it as " certain figui-es added to 
coats of arms, to distinguish one branch 
of a family from another, and how 
distant younger branches are from the 
elder." Ado. I, 1, 69 ; Hml. IV, 5, 183. 
See rue. 
digress. To transgress ; to offend. RII. 

V, 3, 66. 

digression. Transgression. LLL. I, 2, 
121. 

dig=you=den. G-ive you [good] evening. 
LLL. IV, 1, 42. 

dildo. The chorus or burden of a song, 
Wint. IV, 4, 195. 

diluculo surgere. Part of a sentence 
from Lilly's Grammar. The rest is : 
saluberrimum est, and the whole is 
Latin for "to rise early is most health- 
ful." Tw. II, 3, 2. 

dint. Stroke. Cses. Ill, 2, 198. cf. 2HIV, 
IV, 1, 128. 

Diomedes, d7\p. A Greek general for 
whose sake Cressida deserted Troilus. 
Troil. 

Diomede, 3HVI. IV, 2, 19, or Dio- 
medes, Troil. , was, next to Achilles, the 
bravest hero in the Greek army. He 
went to the Trojan war with eighty 
ships and fought the best of the Trojans 
— Hector, vEneas, and others. He and 
Ulysses carried off the palladium from 
the city of Troy, as it was believed that 
Troy could not be taken so long as the 
palladium was within its walls. Homer 
tells how he and Ulysses acted as scouts 
against the Trojan army. When on 
theu' way they met Dolon, a Trojan 
scout, and compelled him to describe to 
them the plan of the Trojan camp. 
Amongst other things, Dolon pointed 
out the camp of the Thracians, who 
had just come to the help of the Trojans, 
bringing with them much wealth and 



several magnificent white horses of 
wonderful swiftness. They then slew 
their guide, Dolon, and fell upon the 
Thracians whom they found fast asleep. 
They killed the Thracian king. Rhesus, 
and eleven of his followers, and carried 
off the horses. It is to this incident 
that Warwick alludes in 3HVI. IV, 2. 

Diomedes, dr. p. An attendant on Cleo- 
patra. Ant. 

Dion, dr.p. A Sicilian lord. Wint. 

Dionyza, dr.p. Wife to Cleon. Per. 

direction. Judgment ; skill. RIII. V, 
3, .16. 

directitude. A word coined by a ser- 
vant and not understood by his fellow 
servant. He probably meant undeter- 
mined. Cor. IV, 5, 222. 

disable. To disparage. Merch. II, 7, 30 ; 
As. V, 4, 80. 

Dis. The god Pluto. Tp. IV, 1, 89; 
Wint. IV, 4, 118. See Pluto and Pro- 
serpine. 

disannul. To annul completely ; to can- 
cel. Err. I, 1, 145; 3HVI. Ill, 3, 81. 
"Prom Latin dis, apart, here used in- 
tensively." Skeat. A somewhat rare 
use of this prefix and one that seems to 
have escaped Prof. Abbott. See his 
" Shakespearian Grammar," § 439. 

disappointed. Unprepared ; unready. 
Hml. I, 5, 77. See appointment. 

disbench. To drive from one's seat. 
Cor. II, 2, 75. 

discandy. To melt; to dissolve. Ant. 
IV, 12, 22. 

disease. To undress. Tp. V, 1, 85 ; Wint. 

IV, 4, 648. 

disclose, v. To hatch. Hml. V, 1, 309. 

disclose, n. The coming forth of the 
young bird from the shell. Used meta- 
phorically in Hml. Ill, 1, 175. 

discomfit, n. Discouragement. 2HVI. 

V, 2, 86. 

discomfit, v. 1. To defeat. IHIV. I, 

1, 67. 
2. To discourage. Shr. II, 1, 164. 
discontent. A malcontent. IHIV. V, 

1, 76 ; Ant. I, 4, 39. 
discourse. Power of reasoning. HmL 

IV, 4, 36. 



DIS 



MG 



discoverer. A scout. 2HIV. IV, 1, 3. 
disdained. Disdainful. IHIV. I, 3, 183. 
dis-eate. A word found in Fl. in the 
passage (Mcb. V, 3, 20) : 

this push 
Will cheers me euer or dis-eate me 

now. 
The words cheer and dis-eate have 
greatly puzzled the corns. , although the 
general meaning of the passage is quite 
obvious. Indeed, this is a marked 
feature of Sh. writings ; in many pass- 
ages particular words may be difficult 
to explain, while the general meaning 
does not admit of doubt. 

Two meanings have been attached to 
these words. Some say that cheer 
means to encourage ; to make happy ; 
and that dis-eate is a misprint for dis- 
ease, of which one of the old meanings 
is to annoy, to make unhappy. To 
others this does not seem quite forceful 
enough, and they give another inter- 
pretation, according to which cheer = 
chair, and dis-eate = disseat, the mean- 
ing being that this push or effort will 
either place him firmly in the chair, 
i.e., on the throne, or will for ever 
unseat him. I confess that on account 
of its more decisive character the latter 
seems to nie the true gloss. The fact 
that Sh. nowhere else uses these words 
with precisely these meanings, has, with 
me, very little weight. Sh. frequently 
gives special meanings to words, and 
uses words of special meaning only once. 

disedge. To surfeit ; to take the edge 
off appetite. Cym. Ill, 4, 96. 

dislimn. To disfigure ; to efface. Ant. 
IV, 14, 10. 

disme. A tithe or tenth. Troil. II, 2, 19. 

dispark. To convert a private park into 
public conunons by destroying fences, 
etc. RII. Ill, 1, 23. 

disponge, ) To let drop as from a 

dispunge. ) sponge. Ant. IV, 9, 13, 

dispose, n. 1. Disposal. Gent. II, 7, 
86; Err. I, 1,21, 
2. Disposition ; temper, 0th. I, 3, 403. 

dispose, V. To conspire. Ant. IV, 14, 
133. 



disputable. Disputatious. As. II, 5, 36. 

dissembly. Dogberry's word for as- 
sembly. Ado. IV, 2, 1. 

distain. To soil ; defile ; to stain. RIII. 
V, 3, 322, 

distance. Hostility ; alienation, Mcb, 

III, 1, 116. 

distaste. To render unsavoury. Troil, 

IV, 4, 50. 

distil. To melt ; to dissolve. Hml. I, 2, 
204. 

distraction. Detachment; division. Ant. 
Ill, 7, 77. 

distraught. Distracted ; mad, RIII. Ill, 
5, 4 ; Rom. IV, 3, 49. 

disvouch. To contradict. Meas. IV, 4, 1. 

dividual. Different ; separate. More than 
in sex dividual, i.e., where the sex of 
the parties is different. Kins. I, 3. 

diverted. Turned from the course of 
nature. As. II, 3, 37. 

division. A passage in a melody. Rom. 
Ill, 5, 29. 

Doctor, dr.2?. Eans. 

Doctor, dr.p. Mcb. 

Two doctors, one English and one 
Scotch appear in Macbeth. 

It is the Scotch doctor, attendant on 
Lady Macbeth to whom reference is 
generally made. 

Doctor Butts, dr.p. Physician to Henry 
VIII. HVIII, 

Doctor Caius, dr.p. A French physician 
in love with Anne Page. Wiv. 

document. Instruction. Hml. IV, 5, 177. 
This word is an interesting and striking 
example of the change from the etymo- 
logical meaning to a meaning which 
must be regarded as chiefly conven- 
tional. The word occurs but once in 
Sh., and in his time it had the meaning 
given to the French word document by 
Cot. in his ' ' Dictionarie. ' ' He defines it 
as : precept ; instruction ; admonition. 
It now means written or printed matter. 

doff. To put off ; to evade, 0th. IV, 2, 
176, 

dog-^ape. A male ape. As. II, 5, 26. 
Much learning has been wasted on 
this term. Thus, Dyce suggests that 
by dog-ape is meant the dog-faced 



ucfC 



DOG 



loa 



DOU 



baboon, and most annotated editions 
have much to say about cenophes and 
cenocephales , forgetting that Jaques is 
not talking of dog-faced or dog-headed 
apes, but of dog-apes, i.e., male apes 
that, like most males of the lower 
animals, quarrel and fight when brought 
together; e.g., two bulls, or two rams 
(c/. As. V, 2, 34), or two stallions. And 
the apes would chatter, and grin, and 
claw, so as to be the best illustration 
Jaques could have chosen in this par- 
ticular case. Even the acute and 
judicious Dr. Furness seems to accept 
the dog-faced gloss which to my mind 
is certainly wrong. The prefix dog is 
frequently used to indicate male. See 
clog-fox. 

Dogberry, dr.p. A blundering, con- 
ceited constable. Ado. 

dog=fish. This is a true fish, a species of 
shark, the squalus acanthius. It is 
not at all related to the dolphin. IHVI. 

I, 4, 107. 

dog=fox. A male fox. A common ex- 
pression amongst hunters. The prefix 
dog is also applied to other animals, 
indicating the male, as, for example, 
dog-wolf. Thersites speaks of that same 
dog-fox Ulysses, because the recognised 
characteristic of Ulysses was craftiness 
or foxiness. Troil. V, 4, 13, Schm. 
suggests that dog here = " bloody- 
minded, cruel," but Thersites, three 
lines above, calls him crafty, and says 
nothing of cruelty. 

dog=hearted. Unfeeling ; inhuman. Lr. 
IV, 3, 47. 

dog=hole. A kennel. All's. II, 3, 291. 

dog = weary. Extremely weary. Shr. 
IV, 2, 60. 

doit. A very small coin ; a trifle. Tp. 

II, 2, 83. 

Dolabella, dr.p. A friend to Octavius 

Caesar. Ant. 
dole. 1. Share; portion, Wiv. Ill, 4, 

68 ; All's. II, 3, 176 ; IHIV. II, 2, 81. 
2. Grief ; sorrow ; dolour. Hnil. I, 2, 

13 ; Per. Ill, Prol. 42 ; Kins. I, 5. 
Doll Tearsheet, dr.p. 2HIV. See road. 
dolphin. 1, The Delphinus delphis, a 



mammal allied to the whales. It is not 
a fish, as Schm. states. It abounds in 
the Mediterranean and the temperate 
parts of the Atlantic, and is also known 
as the porpoise or as Sh. spells it, por- 
pus, q.v. The dolphin or porpoise is 
exceedingly active, tumbling about in 
the waves and catching fish upon which 
it feeds. Hence the allusion in All's. 
II, 3, 31. For the story of Arion and 
the dolphin, see A7Hon. A merm,aid 
on a dolphiTi's hack (Mids. II, 1, 150). 
See tnermaid. 

2. The word dauphin was formerly 
spelled daulphin, and in the older 
editions of Sh. is generally spelled dol- 
phin. See dauphin. 

3. Dolphin chamber. See tavern. 
dominical. The red letter which in church 

almanacs was used to denote Sunday. 
LLL. V, 2, 44. 

Rosaline here twits Katherine with 
having her face marked with the small- 
pox and consequently of a redder 
complexion than usual. See letters B 
and O. 

Domitius Enobarbus, dr.p. Ant. 

Don Adriano de Armado, dr.p. A fan- 
tastical Spaniard. LLL. 

Donalbain, dr.p. Son of King Duncan. 
Mcb. 

Don John, dr.p. Bastard brother to Don 
Pedro. Ado. 

doom. 1. Judgment. 2HVI. I, 3, 214. 
2. The day of judgment; the last day. 
Hml. Ill, 4, 50; Mcb. IV, 1, 117. 

Dorcas, dr.p. A shepherdess. Wint. 

Doricles. The name assumed by Prince 
Florizel when he visited the shepherd's 
cottage, Wint. IV, 4, 146, etc. 

Dorset, Marquis of, dr.p. RIII. 

Thomas Grey, first Marquis of Dor- 
set, joined Buckingham's rebellion, 
and on its failure escaped to Brittany, 
Lady Jane Grey was his great-grand- 
daughter, 

double. It should be observed that dou- 
ble and single anciently signified strong 
and weak when applied to liquors and 
to other objects. In this sense the for- 
mer word may be employed by lago in 



DOIT 



101 



LRU 



0th. I, 2, 14 : A voice poteyitial As dou- 
ble the Duke''s. And the latter, by the 
Chief Justice, speaking to Falstaff in 
2HIV. I, 2, 207 : Is not yoxir wit single? 
So, too, in Mcb. I, 3, 140, his single 
state may mean his weak and debile 
state of mind. 

double=fatal. See yew. 

double=henned. This phrase appears to 
have caused some confusion. Schm., 
followed by Rolf e, explains as a spar- 
row with a double hen, i.e., with a fe- 
male married to two cocks, and hence 
false to both. This does not sound En- 
glish, and hence not Shakespearean. 
The plain meaning of the words is, a 
man doubly married. Thersites is 
hounding Paris against Menelaus — the 
cuckold-maker against the cuckold — 
and calls him a double-henned sparrow, 
because he had two wives, the first, 
CEnone, who was still alive, and the 
second, Helen, whom he stole from 
Menelaus. Troil. V, 7, 11. 

doucets. Correspond to lambs' fries or 
"mountain oysters." Kins. Ill, 5. 

Douglas, Archibald, Earl of, dr. p. IHIV. 

dout. To do out ; to quench. HV. IV, 
2, 11 ; Hml. IV, 7, 192. 

dove. This bird was sacred to Venus, and 
was employed to draw her chariot. Tp. 
IV, 1, 94. In Raleigh's "History of the 
World " we are told that Mahomet had 
a dove "which he used to feed with 
wheat out of his ear ; which dove, when 
it was hungry, lighted on Mahomet's 
shoulder, and thrust its bill in to find 
its breakfast ; Mahomet persuading the 
rude and simple Arabians that it was 
the Holy Ghost that gave him advice." 
It is to this that allusion is made in 
IHVI. I, 2, 140. 

dowlas. A kind of coarse towelling. 
IHIV. Ill, 3, 79. 

dowle. One of the fibers which go to 
make up a feather. Tp. Ill, 3, 65. 

down=gyved. Fallen down to the ankle, 
after the fashion of gyves or fetters. 
Heath. Hml. II, 1, 80. 

down sleeves. Hanging sleeves. Ado. 
Ill, 4, 20. 



down=roping. Hanging down in glutin- 
ous strings. HV. IV, 2, 48. 

Dowsabel. A nickname jocularly applied 
to a very fat servant. Err. IV, 1, 110. 
Her real name was Nell. Err. Ill, 2, 

III. The name means sweet and beau- 
tiful (French douce et belle), and M^as a 
favorite with a certain class of poets. 
Here used ironically. 

doxy. A mistress. A cant word. Wint. 

IV, 2, 2. 

drabb. A loose woman. Meas. II, 1, 247 ; 

Mcb. IV, 1, 31. 
drabbing. Following loose women. Hml. 

II, 1, 26. 
draff. Dregs ; refuse. Wiv. IV, 2, 112. 
dram. 1. The eighth part of an ounce; 

a very small quantity. Merch. IV, 1, 

6; Hml. 1,4, 36. 
2. Poison; a poisonous draught. Wint. 

I, 2, 320 ; 0th. I, 3, 105 ; Cym. V, 5, 
381 ; Kins. I, 1. 

draw dry=foot. To follow game by scent. 

Err. IV, 2, 39. See counter. 
drawer. A tapster. Wiv. II, 2, 167; 

IHIV. II, 4, 7. 
drawn. Having their swords drawn. Tp. 

II, 1, 308. 

drawn fox. A fox turned out of his 
earth. IHIV. Ill, 3, 128. 

dresser. A table or sideboard on which 
meat was carved and dishes prepared 
for guests. Shr. IV, 1, 166. 

dribbling. Falling weakly like a drop. 
Meas. I, 3, 2. It has been suggested 
that the word is a misprint for drib- 
bing, dribber and dribbed being terms 
in archery signifying a bad shot. 

drollery. A humorous picture. 2HIV. 
II, 1, 156. 

Dromio of Ephesus, ^ dr.jJ. Twin broth- 

Dromio of Syracuse. ) ers, attendants on 
the twins Antipholus. Err. 

drug. A drudge according to most corns. 
Tim. IV, 3, 254. Sometimes spelled 
drugge, as in Fl. That drug is an old 
mode of spelling drudge there is abund- 
ant evidence. Schm. suggests that in 
the passage cited it may mean, "all 
things in passive subserviency to salu- 
tary as well as pernicious purposes," 



\ 



DRTT 



103 



DUN 



but English-speaking readers will hardly 
accept this gloss. 

drum. A well-known musical (?) instru- 
ment. In order to understand Parolles' 
distress at the loss of the drum, we 
must ' ' remember that the drums of the 
regiments of his day were decorated 
with the colors of the battalion. It was 
therefore equivalent to the loss of the 
flag of the regiment — a disgrace all good 
soldiers deeply feel. ' ' Fairholt. 

Has led the drum before the En- 
glish tragedians. It was the custom 
in England for players to have a drum 
beaten so as to give notice of their ar- 
rival in any town where they intended 
to perform. All's. IV, 3, 298. 

Drum, Jack. The old joke, "Jack Drum's 
entertainment," which meant a sound 
threshing, is obvious enough. The 
drum gets a beating and so does Jack. 
It is like "hickory oil," "strap oil," 
and sundry other euphemisms for a 
beating. Sometimes called " Tom 
Drum's entertainment." All's. Ill, 6, 
41 ; also 322. There was a play pub- 
lished in 1601, the title of which was 
Jack Driim''s Entertainmeyit. It is 
republished in Simpson's " The School 
of Shakspere," vol. II. 

drumble. To dawdle; to be sluggish. 
Wiv. Ill, 3, 156. 

dry=beat. To thresh; to cudgel. LLL. 
V, 2, 264. 

dry=foot. Hunting by scent. Err. IV, 
2, 39. See counter. 

dub me knight. This refers to the cus- 
tom of persons drinking, on their knees, 
a large draught of wine or other liquor, 
in consequence of which they were said 
to be dubbed knights, and retained the 
title for the evening. Dyce. 2HIV. V, 
3,78. 

ducat. A silver coin. The Venetian du- 
cat was nearly equal in value to a United 
States dollar. March. I, 3, 1. 

ducdame. Undoubtedly a meaningless 
word, coined by Jaquesforthe occasion. 
As. II, 5, 56. It has served admirably 
the purpose for which he claims that it 
was intended and has called a multitude 



of ' ' fools into a circle ' ' to discuss its 
meaning, their lucubrations filling three 
solid pages of small type in the New 
Variorum ed. That it is not a misprint 
like larmen and Ullorxa is evident. 
Hanmer tells us that it is Latin, modi- 
fied from due ad me (bring him to me). 
But Jaques himself tells us that it is 
Greek, which is defined in the old slang 
dictionaries as "lingo, cant, or gibber- 
ish." See "Lexicon Balatronicum,"s.'j;. 
Greek. Others say that it is the cry 
used by farmers' wives to call their 
poultry. Others, again, make it out to 
be Gaelic, Welsh, Italian, French, etc. 
In coining this word and calling it "a 
Greek invocation to call fools into a 
circle," Jaques evidently "builded 
better than he knew. ' ' 

dudgeon. The handle of a dagger. Mcb. 
II, 1, 46. 

due. To endue. IHVI. IV, 2, 34. 

Duke, the banished, dr. p. Living in the 
Forest of Arden. As. 

Duke, the usurper, dr. p. Brother to the 
banished duke. As. 

Duke. For the various dukes who appear 
as dr. p., see Albany, Alen^on, Aumerle, 
Bedford, Buckingham (2), Burgundy (2), 
Clarence (2), Cornwall, Exeter (2), 
Florence, Gloucester (3), Lancaster, 
MUan (2), Norfolk (3), Orleans, Oxford, 
Somerset, Sufi'olk (2), Surrey, Venice 
(2), York (3). 

Dull, dr. p. A constable characterised by 
his name. LLL. 

Dumain, dr. p. A lord attendant on the 
King of Navarre. LLL. 

dumb. To put to silence. Ant. I, 5, 50. 

dump. A melancholy strain in music. 
Gent. Ill, 2, 85; Rom. IV, 5, 108. (Pe- 
ter's absurd speech.) 

dun. 1. A color of no very certain shade. 
The colors of the mouse and of the deer 
are said to be dun. In Rom. I, 4, 40, 
there is a quibble between done and 
dun., and this seems to be the only 
meaning to be di'avvn from the saying 
of Mercutio, in reply to Romeo's "I 
am done" — "Tut, dun's the mouse." 
But why this should be "the consta- 



DUN 



108 



EAL 



ble's own word" has never been ex- 
plained. Some say that it is a slang 
phrase meaning "keep quiet," "be 
still," like the modern slang, "cheese 
it." And in " Patient GrissU," a com- 
edy by Dekker, Chettle and Houghton 
(1603), we find " yet don is the mouse, 
He still." 

2. A name for an old cart-horse, corre- 
sponding to Dobbin ; hence applied to an 
old game called " Drawing Dun out of 
the mire," which is thus described by 
Gilford : " A log of wood is brought into 
the midst of the room : this is Dun (the 
cart horse), and a cry is raised that he 
is stuck in the mire. Two of the com- 
pany advance, either with or without 
ropes, to draw him out. After repeated 
attempts, they find themselves unable 
to do it, and call for more assistance. 
The game continues till all the company 
take part in it, when Dim is extricated, 
of course; and the merriment arises 
from the awkward and affected efforts 
of the rustics to lift the log, and from 
sundry arch contrivances to let the ends 
of it fall on one another's toes." It 
would seem that it is to this that Mer- 
cutio refers in Rom. I, 4, 41. 



Duncan, rfr.p. King of Scotland. Mcb. 

dungy. Coarse ; filthy. Ant. I, 1, 35. 

dunghill, ad. Costard's blunder for ad 
unguem, at the nail, or, as he expresses 
it, at the fingers' ends. LLL. V, 1, 80. 

dup. To open. Hml. IV, 5, 53. 

durance. A very durable material made 
to imitate the buff leather which in for- 
mer days was used for making the 
clothing of the lower classes. Hence a 
name for a prison dress. Err. IV, 3, 
27. ^^ Durance is still familiarly used 
for confinement, especially in the phrase 
durance vile for imprisonment. ' ' In the 
use of the word there seems to be a hint 
of a pun between the two meanings, 
durability and sufferance (enduring). 
cf. IHIV. I, 2, 49. 

Dictynna. One of the names of Diana. 
LLL. IV, 2, 38. So called from the 
legend that Minos had loved and pur- 
sued her till she leapt into the sea, 
and was saved by being caught in a 
fisherman's net. In this character she 
was chiefly the goddess of seafarers, and 
as such was widely worshipped on the 
islands and coasts of the Mediterranean. 

duties. Compliments; homage. IHIV. 
V, 2, 56. 



^^j2^ lACH, AT, This phrase, as found 
J^^^S ^^ ^^" ^^^' ^' ^^' ^^^ occasioned 



needless trouble to the Pris- 
cians. Ten masts at each 
(So in Fl.) evidently means arranged 
separately, i.e., end to end, and not in 
a bundle. Warburton called it non- 
sense ; Johnson would accept it only if 
some precedent could be found ; R. G. 
White, so censorious in regard to emend- 
dations by others, says: "Evidently, 
we should read * * * reach''''; Singer 
reads at eche, for which he suggests an 
Anglo-saxon derivation ; "at eke;" "a- 
stretch;" "at least;" "at length," 
etc., etc., ad nauseam. All which 



affords another good illustration of the 
truth that while it may frequently be 
difficult to give a technical explanation 
of the words in many passages of Sh., 
the general meaning admits of no 
doubt. 

eager. 1. Sharp ; sour. Hml. I, 5, 69. 
See aigre. 
2. Keen ; biting. Hml. I, 4, 2. 

eale. A combination of letters for which, 
so far as we know, no meaning has yet 
been found. The passage in which it 
occurs, Hml. I, 4, 36 : 

the dram of eale 
Doth all the noble substance of a doubt 
To his own scandal, 



EAN 



104 



EAV 



has thus far defied the corns. , although 
the general meaning is obvious and may 
be paralleled by Ecclesiastes x, 1. The 
two words which cause the diflficulty 
are eale and doubt, and the number of 
emendations which have been proposed 
is quite large. The new Var, gives six 
solid pages to a discussion of the various 
readings that have been suggested. The 
most plausible changes, and those that 
seem to meet the sense most closely, are 
the substitution of ill or evil for eale, 
and dout (= do out, or extinguish, as in 
HV. IV, 2, 11, and Hml. IV, 7, 193) for 
doubt. The reading then would be : 

the dram of ill [evil] 
Doth all the noble substance often dout 
To his own scandal. 
This meets the required sense. 

ean. To yean; to bring forth young. 
Merch. I, 3, 88 ; Per. Ill, 4, 6. 

From the Anglo-saxon ednian, to 
bring forth young. In yean the pre- 
fixed y represents the very common 
Anglo-saxon prefix ge, readily added to 
any verb without aftecting the sense. 
This prefix ge was very common both 
as applied to substantives and verbs. 
Is this the origin of the y so frequently 
prefixed to Scottish and early English 
words ? See Yedward. 

eanling. A young lamb, just born. 
Merch. I, 3, 80. 

ear, n. The organ of hearing. You may 
prove it by my long ears (Err. IV, 4, 
29), meaning that his master had 
lengthened his ears by frequently pull- 
ing them. Steevens. I will bite thee 
by the ear (Rom. II, 4, 81). To bite 
the ear was once an expression of en- 
dearment. Giflt'ord, in his edition of 
Jonson's works, has the following note : 
" This odd mode of expressing pleasure, 
which seems to be taken from the prac- 
tice of animals, who, in a playful mood, 
bite each other's ears, etc., is very com- 
mon in our old dramatists. " 

ear, v. To till; to cultivate. All's. I, 
3,47. 

ear=kissing. Confidential ; private. Lr. 
II, 1, 9. In some eds. ear-bussing. 



Earl Berkeley, dr.j?. A follower of the 

Duke of York. RII. 
Earl of Cambridge, dr.j). A conspirator 

against Henry V. HV. 
Earl of Douglas, Archibald, dr.p. A 

Scottish noble. IHIV. 
Earl of Essex, Geoffrey Pitz-Peter, dr.p. 

John. 
Earl of Gloucester, dr.p. Lr. 
Earl of Kent, dr.p. Lr. 
Earl of March, Edward Mortimer, dr.p. 

IHIV. - 
Earl of March, dr.p. Afterwards Ed- 
ward IV. 3HVI. 
Earl of Northumberland, dr.jD. RII. 
Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, 

dr.p. IHIV. and 2HIV. 
Earl of Northumberland, dr.p. A Lan- 
castrian. 3HVI. 
Earl of Oxford, dr.p. RIIL 
Earl of Pembroke, William Mareschall, 

dr.p. John. 
Earl of Pembroke, dr.p. A Yorkist. 

3HVI. 
Earl of Richmond, dr.p. 3HVI. and 

RIII. 
Earl Rivers, dr.p. RIII. 
Earl of Salisbury, William Longsword, 

dr. 2). John. 
Earl of Salisbury, dr.p. RII, 
Earl of Salisbury, dr.p. A Yorkist. 

IHVI. and 2HVI. 
Earl of Suffolk, dr.p. IHVI. 
Earl of Surrey,' dr.p. Son to Duke of 

Norfolk. RIII. and HVIII. 
Earl of Warwick, dr.p. 2HIV. 
Earl of Warwick, dr.jD. HV. 
Earl of Warwick, dr.jj. A Yorkist. 

IHVI., 2HVI. and 3HVL 
Earl of Westmoreland, dr.p. Friend to 

Henry IV. and V. IHIV. 2HIV., and 

HV. 
Earl of Westmoreland, dr.p. A Lan- 
castrian. 3HVI. 
Earl of Worcester, Thomas Percy, dr.p. 

IHIV. and 2HIV. 
eaves. The dipt edge of a thatched roof. 

The word is singular, and the plural 

should be eaveses. Skeat. Tp. V, 1, 

17. cf. reed. 
eaves=dropper. One who stands under 



ECH 



105 



EGY 



and catches the drippings from the 
eaves ; hence, metaphorically, a secret 
listener. RIII. V, 3, 221. 

eche. To piece out. Merch. Ill, 2, 33. 
In modern eds. generally spelled eke, 

ecstasy. Any state of being beside one- 
self ; extreme delight ; madness. Merch. 
Ill, 2, 112 ; .Hml. Ill, 4, 138. 

In the usage of Sh. and writers of 
that time, it stood for every species of 
alienation of mind, whether temporary 
or permanent, proceeding from joy, 
sorrow, wonder, or any other exciting 
cause. And this certainly suits the 
etymology. Nares. 

Edgar, dr. p. Son to Earl of Grloucester. 
Lr. 

Edmund, dr. p. Earl of Rutland. 3HVI. 

Edmund, dr.p. Bastard son to Earl of 
Gloucester. Lr. 

Edmund Mortimer, dr. p. Earl of March. 
IHIV. 

Edmund Mortimer, dr. p. Earl of March. 
IHVI. 

Edmund of Langley, dr. p. Duke of 
York. RII. 

Edward IV., dr. p. RIII. 

Edward, dr.p. Son to Plantagenet. 
2HVI. 

Edward, Prince of Wales, dr.p. RIII. 

Edward, Prince of Wales, dr.p. Son 
to Henry VI. 3HVI. 

Edward, Earl of March, dr.p. After- 
wards Edward IV. 3HVI. 

Edward shovel=boards. The broad shil- 
lings of Edward VI, used for playing 
at the game of shovel-board. Wiv. I, 
1, 159. See shovel-board and shove 
groat. 

effect. Expression; intimation. 2HIV. 
I, 2, 183. Answer in the effect of your 
reputation (2HIV. II, 1, 142) = answer 
in a manner suitable to your character. 
Johnson. 

eft. Convenient ; ready. Ado. IV, 2, 38. 

eftsoons. By and by ; after a while. Per. 
V, 1, 256. 

egal. Equal. Tit. IV, 4, 4. 

Egeus, dr. 23. Father to Hermia. Mids. 

©SS* ill=roasted. Roasting seems to have 
been a popular mode of cooking eggs in 



the olden time, if we may judge by the 
number of proverbs relating to the pro- 
cess. They required constant turning 
during the operation. Steevens says 
there is a proverb that a fool is the best 
roaster of eggs because he is always 
turning them. But Skeat gives an- 
other proverb with an opposite trend : 
" There goes some reason to the roast- 
ing of eggs." As. Ill, 2, 38; Kins. II, 3. 

eggs for money. The proverbial expres- 
sion : Will you take eggs for money ? 
Wint. I, 2, 161, seems to be rightly ex- 
plained, ' ' Will you suffer yourself to 
be bullied or imposed upon." Dyce. 
cf. Cor. IV, 4, 21, not worth an egg. 
He will steal an egg out of a cloister, 
(AU's. IV, 3, 280) =-- he will steal any- 
thing, however trifling, from any place, 
however holy. Johnson. 

Eglamour, dr.p. Agent for Silvia in her 
escape. Gent. 

egma. Costard's blunder for enigma. 
LLL. Ill, 1, 73. 

Egyptian thief. The allusion in Tw, V, 
1, 121, is to " Thyamis, who was a native 
of Memphis, and at the head of a band 
of robbers. Theagenes and Chariclea 
falling into their hands, Thyamis fell 
desperately in love with the lady, and 
would have married her. Soon after, 
a stronger body of robbers coming down 
upon Thyamis's party, he was in such 
fear for his mistress that he had her 
shut into a cave with his treasure. It 
was customary with those barbarians, 
when they despaired of their own safe- 
ty, first to make away with those whom 
they held dear, and desired for com- 
panions in the next life. Thyamis, 
therefore, benetted round with his ene- 
mies, raging with love, jealousy and 
anger, went to his cave ; and calling 
aloud in the Egyptian tongue, so soon 
as he heard himself answered towards 
the cave's mouth by a Grecian, making 
to the person by the direction of her 
voice, he caught her by the hair with his 
left hand, and (supposing her to be 
Chariclea,) with his right hand plunged 
his sword into her breast." Theobald. 



£IS 



106 



ELD 



eisel. Vinegar. So defined in most of 
the glossaries. In Sonn. CXI, 10, it 
certainly means vinegar. But in regard 
to this word as it occurs in Hml. V, 1, 
299, Dr. Furness says: "With the ex- 
ception of the dram of eale, no word 
or phrase in this tragedy has occasioned 
more discussion than this Esill or Esile, 
which as it stands represents nothing in 
the heavens above, or the earth be- 
neath, or the waters under the earth. " 

While some suppose that Hamlet 
challenges Laertes to drink vinegar (a 
most puerile idea) others suggest that 
he refers to a river Oesil, which is said 
to be in Denmark, or if not, Sh. might 
have thought there was. The question 
was much disjDuted between Steevens 
and Malone, the former being for the 
river and the latter for vinegar. Nares 
says : " The challenge to drink vinegar, 
in such a rant, is so inconsistent, and 
even ridiculous, that we must decide 
for the river, whether its name can be 
exactly found or not. To drink up a 
river, and eat a crocodile with his 
impenetrable scales, are two things 
equally impossible. There is no kind of 
comparison between the others." In 
attempting to form an opinion, we 
should bear in mind that Hamlet's 
challenge to feats impossible of execu- 
tion is but a reply to the equally im- 
possible deeds which Laertes has just 
ordered the gra\ e-diggers to perform, 
viz. , to make a mountain that would 
o'er-top old Pelion, or the skyish head 
Of blue Olympus. 

For a man so deeply in earnest as was 
Hamlet, to match such a piece of bom- 
bast by a suggestion to drink vinegar, 
"In order to produce 'a vinegar as- 
pect,' " as suggested by Dr. Schmidt in 
his "Lexicon," or to eat the dried or 
pickled crocodile of the apothecary's 
shop, as some coms. would have it, 
seems to me entirely inappropriate, to 
say the least. In Fl the word is spelled 
Esile, and in italics. Capitals did not 
count for very much with the printers 
of 1623, but throughout the play proper 



names are capitalized, and this at least 
indicates a suggestion of Esile's being a 
proper name. Strange to say, the Globe 
edition, which claims to follow the old 
copies so closely, does not use a capital 
letter here. Dr. Furness "believes Esill 
and Esile to be misprints for Eysell." 
New Var., Hamlet. Vol. I, p. 409. 

eke. 1. Also. Wiv. 1, 3, 105. 
2. To add to ; to piece out. As. I, 2, 208. 

Elbow, dr. p. A constable. Meas. 

eld. Old age. Wiv. IV, 4, 36. 

elder. A shrub or small tree, the Sam- 
bucus nigra. Our American elder (the 
SambuGus Canadense) is a closely al- 
lied species. Both are well known from 
the peculiarity of the wood and fruit, 
the latter being a favorite for the mak- 
ing of spiced wine. The wood is fre- 
quently used as a substitute for box- 
wood in the manufacture of the cheaper 
rules and straight-edges. The young 
trees and shoots have a very large, 
pithy center. Hence heart of elder, 
Wiv. II, 3, 30, means a weak, spiritless 
creature; opposed to the familiar 
phrase, "heart of oak." See cride- 
game. The leaves of the elder have a 
strong and disagreeable odor; hence 
called stinking elder, Cym. IV, 2, 59. 
The elder has, from time immemorial, 
possessed a bad reputation, and has been 
regarded as a plant of ill omen. One 
of the traditions connected with it is 
that Judas was hanged on an elder, 
LLL. V, 2, 610. This legend is found 
scattered through all the literature of 
the time of Sh. and that immediately 
preceding. Sir John Mandeville (1364) 
tells us in his ' ' Ti-avels ' ' that at Jeru- 
salem he was shown the identical ' ' tree 
of Elder that Judas hange himself up- 
on, for despeyr that he hadde when he 
soldo and betrayed owre Lord." 

Concerning another species, the Sam- 
bucus Ebulus, or Dwarf Elder, the 
tradition runs that it grows most where 
blood has been shed either in battle or 
murder. In Welsh it is called "plant , 
of the blood of man," and Sh. may 
have had this piece of plant-lore in 



ELD 



101 



ENG 



mind when he represents Bassanius as 
killed at a pit beneath an elder tree. 
This is the pit and this the elder' tree. 
Tit. II, 3, 277. 

elder=gun. A pop-gun. So called be- 
cause usually made by boys out of a 
branch of elder from which the pith 
has been removed. It was capable of 
inflicting a sharp stinging blow with its 
pellets of moistened tow, but could not 
cause any serious injury. Hence the al- 
lusion in HV. IV, 1, 210. 

Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, dr.p. 
2HVI. 

eleven and twenty. That teacheth tricks 
eleven and tiventy long. Shr. IV, 2, 
57. A phrase of which the origin is 
unknown. Probably similar to the 
American phrase forty - eleven. See 
" The Professor at the Breakfast Table. ' ' 

elf. To mat the hair together. The elves 
or fairies were supposed to tangle the 
hair for mischief. Lr. II, 3, 10. 

elMock. A lock of hair tangled or matted 
together by the fairies. Rom. I, 4, 90. 

Elinor, Queen, dr.p. Mother of King 
John. John. 

Elizabeth Woodville, dr.p. Lady Grey 
and queen to Edward IV. 3HVI. and 

Ely, Bishop of, dr.p. John Morton. 

mil. 

Ely, Bishop of, dr.p. HV. 

emballing. The ceremony of carrying the 
ball, as queen, at a coronation. The 
word is one of Sh. manufacture, and 
has given some trouble to the coms. 
The above is Johnson's explanation, 
and is clearly the best out of many. 
Some are offensive and improbable. 

emboss. To hunt to death. All's. Ill, 
6, 106. 

embossed. 1. Swollen. As. II, 7, 67. 
2. Foaming at the mouth from hard 
running. Shr. Ind., I, 17; Ant. IV, 

11,3. . ^. 

embarguement. Hindrances ; impedi- 
ments. A word of doubtful origin and 
significance. Cor. I, 10, 22. 

embrasure. Embrace. Troil. IV, 4, 39. 

Emilia, dr.p. Sister to Hippolyta. Kins. 



Emilia, dr.p. Wife to lago. 0th. 
Emilia, dr.p. A lady attending on Her- 

mione. Wint. 
emmew. A term in falconry, signifying 

to cause the game to lie close for fear. 

Meas. Ill, 1, 91. 
empery. 1. Empire; dominion. HV. I, 

2 226. 
2. Country over which sway is held. 

RIII. Ill, 7, 136. 
empiricutic. Quackish. Undoubtedly a 

coined word. Cor. II, 1, 128. 
emulous. Jealous; envious. Troil. II, 

3, 242. 
enactures. Action; representation. Schm. 

Hml. Ill, 2, 207. Johnson gives "re- 
solutions" as the meaning. In the 

Folio of 1623 the word is ennectors ; 

enactures is the word in the Quarto. 
end. Still an end = ever and anon. 

Gent. IV, 4, 67. Qu. Corrupted from 

" still and anon. " 
endart. To shoot forth. Rom. I, 3, .98. 
endeared. Bound. 2HIV. II, 3, 11 ; Tim. 

1. 2, 236. 

Endymion. A beautiful youth, said to 
have been a hunter or shepherd who 
fell asleep in a cave of Mount Latmus, 
and while there was visited by Selene 
(the moon, Luna) who fell in love with 
him, and kept him in a perpetual slum- 
ber so that she might be able to kiss 
him without his knowledge. By him 
she is said to have had fifty daughters. 
Such is the generally accepted story, 
but there are various poetical versions 
of the legend. Merch. V, 1, 109. See 
Diana. 

enfeoff. To give in vassalage ; to grant 
out as a feoff or estate. IHIV. Ill, 

2, 69. 
enforce. To exaggerate; to lay stress 

upon. Cses. Ill, 2, 42 ; Ant. V, 2, 125. 
englut. To swallow at a gulp. Tim. II, 

2 175. 
engraffed. Deep-fixed. Kins. IV, 3. 
engross. 1. To make fat. RHL 7, 76. 

2. To amass. IHIV. Ill, 2, 148 ; 2HIV. 
IV, 5, 71. 

3. Seizing the whole ofo All's. Ill, 2, 
68 ; Rom. V, 3, 115. 



ENK 



108 



ETE 



enkindle. To incite; to make keen. Mcb. 

1, 3, 121. 

Enobarbus, Domitius, dr. p. A friend to 

Anthony. Ant. 
enseamed. Gross ; defiled ; filthy. Hml. 

Ill, 4, 92. See seam. 
ensear. To dry up. Tim. IV, 3, 187. 
ensconce. To hide ; to cover. Wiv. II, 

2, 27 ; do. Ill, 3, 96. 

enskyed. Heavenly ; raised above earthly 
things. Meas. I, 4^ 34. 

ensteeped. Lying under water. 0th. 
II, 1, 70. 

entail. Hereditary right to property. 
All's. IV, 3, 343. 

entertain. Encounter. HV. I, 2, 111. 

entreatments. Interviews ; entertain- 
ments. Hml. I, 3, 122. 

Ephesian. A cant term for jolly com- 
panion; a toper. Wiv. IV, 5, 19. 
Ephesians ^ '^ * of the old church 
= companions of the old sort. 2HIV. 
II, 2, 164. 

equipage. A word of equivocal meaning 
as it occurs in Wiv. II, 2, 3. Schm. 
notes it " quite unintelligible ; " War- 
burton says it is a carit term for stolen 
goods; Farmer is certain that it is a 
cant word, but of unascertained mean- 
ing. (It is not found in modern 
slang dictionaries.) Steevens thinks it 
means attendance. 

Ercles. A contraction of Hercules. Mids. 
I, 2, 31. 

erewhiie. A short time since. LLL. IV, 

1, 99 ; As. II, 4, 89. 

eringo. Sea-holly, much used as a deli- 
cacy and believed to be a powerful 
aphrodisiac. Wiv. V, 5, 33. 

Eros, dr. p. A friend to Antony. Ant. 

Erpingham, Sir Thomas, dr. p. An officer 
in the English army. HV. 

err. Besides the usual meaning, this 
word in Sh. time signified wandering 
(without any suggestion of evil) . Hml. I, 
1, 154; 0th. I, 3, 362. See extravaga7it. 

Escalus, dr. p. A lord of Vienna. Meas. 

Escalus, dr. p. Prince of Verona. Rom. 

Escanes, dr.p. A lord of Tyre. Per. 

escape. A freak ; an escapade. Tit. IV, 

2, 114 ; 0th. I, 3, 136. 



escape. Escapes of wit = sallies of wit. 

Meas. IV, 1, 63. 
escapen. The old form of escaped. Per. 

Il, Prol. 36. 
escot. To pay for ; to maintain. Hml. 

II, 2, 362. Cot. gives " disner a escot 

= a dinner at an ordinarie ; or where 

every guest payes his part." 
Esile. See eisel. 
esperance. Hope. The motto of the 

Percies. IHIV. II, 3, 74. 
espial. A spy. Hml. Ill, 1, 32. 
Essex, Earl of, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, dr.p. 

John. 
estimation. Conjecture. IHIV. I, 3, 

272. 
estridge. An ostrich. IHIV. IV, 1, 98. 

By some = goshawk. Ant. Ill, 13, 197. 
eternal. In many passages this word is 

evidently not used in the sense of 

"without end." Mrs. Ford (Wivs. II, 

1, 50) speaks of an eternal moment; 
Emilia of an eternal villain (0th. IV, 

2, 130), and Cassius of the eternal devil 
(Caes. I, 2, 160). The expression efernai 
blazon (Hml. I, 5, 21,) has given rise to 
considerable discussion. Schm. gives 
the meaning as "this account of the 
things of eternity " ; others suggest that 
it is a misprint for infernal. It is 
probable that it here means simply 
great, tremendous. As it occurs in 
some passages Schm. explains the word 
as " used to express extreme abhor- 
ence ; ' ' but this does not apply in many 
cases where it evidently does not mean 
' ' without end. ' ' Thus ' ' the propitiatory 
address to the reader in the ante-natal 
edition of Troilus and Cresida, 1609, 
begins : ' Eternall reader, you have 
here a new play, never staled with the 
stage, etc. I remember other like 
sentences, but have not time to look 
them up ; nor is there any need ; one 
such example is as good as forty. Mani- 
festly, this writer did not intend to 
open his address in favor of his new 
play by ' expressing extreme abhorence ' 
of his reader with Dr. Schmidt, or by 
calling him ' infernal reader, ' with Mr. ■ 
Walker. And yet the word is used just 



ETE 



109 



EXP 



as it is in the passages quoted above 
from Sh., and as the rustic Yankee 
uses it in 'tarnal.' In all these cases 
the word is used merely as an expletive 
of excess. It means simply boundless, 
immeasurable, and corresponds very 
nearly in its purport to the word 
egregious, as it is used by some of our 
elder writers, and nowadays in Spanish, 
egregio autore.''^ R. G. White. 

eterne. Eternal. Mcb. Ill, 2, 38 ; Hml. 
II, 2, 512. 

eternize. To immortalise. 2HVI. V, 3, 
31. 

Europa. According to common tradition, 
the daughter of the Phoenician king 
Agenor. Her surpassing beauty charmed 
Jupiter, who assumed the form of a 
bull (Wiv. V, 5, 4) and mingled with 
the herd as Europa and her maidens 
were sporting on the seashore. En- 
couraged by the tameness of the animal, 
Europa ventured to mount upon his 
back, whereupon Jupiter rushed into 
the sea and swam with her in safety to 
Crete. Here she became, by Jupiter, 
the mother of Minos, Radamanthys, 
a nd Sarpedon . She afterwards married 
Asterion, King of Crete, who brought 
up the children whom she had had by 
the King of the Gods. Referred to in 
Shr. I, 1, 173. 

Europe, as a division of the world, 
was believed to ha\ e derived its name 
from this fabulous Phoenician princess. 

Euphronius, dr.p. An ambassador. Ant. 

Evans, Sir Hugh, dr.p. A Welsh parson 
famous for his "frittering " of English. 
Wiv. 

even=Christian. Fellow Christian. Hml. 
V, 1, 32. 

even=pleached. Hedges so interwoven 
and trimmed as to have an even sur- 
face. HV. V, 2, 42. 

evil. 1. A privy. Meas. II, 2, 172 ; HVIII. 
II, 1, 67. 

2. The king's evil. Mcb. IV, 3, 148. A 
scrofulous disease which was so called 
because the kings and queens of Eng- 
land were supposed to have the power 
of curing it by a touch. Many of our 



readers will remember that Dr. Johnson, 
when a child, was carried to London 
by his mother so that he might be 
touched by Queen Anne and cured. 

evitate. To avoid. Wiv. V, 5, 241. 

examine. To doubt ; to call in question. 
All's. Ill, 5, 66. 

excrement. Hair, beard and other things 
growing out of the body. Merch. Ill, 
2, 87 ; Err. II, 2, 79. The etymological 
meaning of excrement is something 
which groivs out, and it is in this sense 
that it is used in Sh., with, perhaps, a 
single exception (Tim. IV, 3, 445). It 
is doubtful if even this passage furnishes 
an exception. 

exercise. Religious services. RIII. Ill, 
2, 112. 

Exeter, Duke of, dr.p. Uncle to Henry 
V. HV. and 3HVI. 

exhale. To draw out. In Pistol's speech 
(HV. II, 1, 66) he means "draw your 
sword." 

exhibition. Pension ; allowance. Gent. 

1, 3, 69 ; Lr. I, 2, 25 ; 0th. I, 3, 238. 
Used blunderingly in Ado. IV, 2, 5. 
We have the exhibition to examine = 
we have the examination to exhibit. 
Steevens. . 

exigent. 1. Decisive moment; pressing 
necessity. Cses. V, 1, 19. Ant. IV, 14, 
63. 
2. The end ; death. IHVI. II, 5, 9. 

exion. Mrs. Quickly's blunder for action. 
2HIV. II, 1, 32, 

exorcise. This word (and words formed 
fi'om it — exorcism, exorcist, etc.) was 
employed by Sh. in the sense of raising 
spirits, not laying them, as is the 
modern use. 2HVI. 1, 4, 5 ; Cym. IV, 

2, 276. 

expedience. 1. Haste. RII. II, 1, 287. 
2. Campaign; expedition. IHIV. I, 1, 
33; Ant. 1,2, 185. 

expedient. Expeditious ; swift. John, II, 
1, 60; 2HVI. Ill, 1, 288. This is the 
etymological meaning of the word. 
The meaning was about to change at 
this time, and the word does not appear 
in Sh. in plays wiitten after 1596. 
Fleay, 



EXP 



110 



EYS 



expediently. Quickly; expeditiously. As. 
Ill, 1, 18. See expedient. 

expiate. Completed : brought to a close. 
Sonn. XXII, 4 ; RIII. Ill, 3, 23. 

expire. To bring to an end ; to conclude. 
Rom. I, 4, 109. 

expostulate. To expound ; to explain. 
Hml. II, 2, 86. 

exposture. Exposure ; the state of being 
exposed. Cor. IV, 1, 36. It has been 
suspected that this word is an error of 
the press, as it has not been found any- 
where else except in this passage. 

expulse. To expel ; to drive out. IHVI. 
Ill, 3, 25. 

exsufflicate. Contemptible ; abomina- 
able. 0th. Ill, 3, 182. 

This word is found nowhere else, and 
the meaning is rather uncertain. Some 
explain it as blown up, but this would 
be tautology. Nares, following Du 
Cange, derives it from low Latin ex- 
sufflare, used in an old ecclesiastical 
form of renouncing the devil. 

extend. A law term meaning to seize 
upon. Ant. I, 2. 105. 

extent. Seizure. As. Ill, 1, 17. 

Lord Campbell regards Sh. use of this 
term as indicating a deeper technical 
knowledge of law than could be ob- 
tained by mere ordinary observation. 
" The usurping Duke, Frederick, wish- 
ing all the real property of Oliver to be 
seized, awards a suit of extent against 
him, in the language which would be 
used by the Lord Chief Baron of the 
Court of Exchequer. Make an extent 
upon his house and lands — an extendi 
facias applying to houses and lands, as 
Bi fieri facias would apply to goods and 
chattels, or a capias ad satisfaciendum 
to the person." 

extenuate. To undervalue ; to detract 
from. Cses. Ill, 2, 42. 

extirp. To extirpate ; to root out. Meas. 
Ill, 2, 110. 

extracting. Distracting. Tw. V, 1, 288. 

extraught. Extracted; descended. 3HVI. 
II, 2, 142. 

extravagancy. Wandering ; v^agrancy. 
Tw. II, 1, 12. 



extravagant. Wandering; straying be- 
yond bounds. LLL. IV, 2, 68 ; Hml. I. 

1, 154; 0th. 1, 1, 137. The word occurs 
but three times in Sh. , and is always 
used in the old and strictly etymological 
sense. Never with the meaning which 
now attaches to it. 

extreme. 1. Extravagance of conduct. 
Wint. IV, 4, 6. 

2. Extremity. Rom. IV, 1, 62. 
extremity, in. Extremely. Mids. Ill, 

2, 3. 

eyas. A nestling ; a young hawk. Hml. 
II, 2, 855. " Mais : a nestling ; a young 
bird taken out of a neast. " Also, under 
niez : " a niais hawke. ' ' Cot. 

eyas musket. A young male sparrow- 
hawk. Wiv. Ill, 3, 22. 

eye. 1. Aglance ; anoeilliade. g.u Tp. I, 
2,441. 

2. A shade of color, as in shot silk. Tp. 
II, 1, 55. Phillpotts suggests that " the 
jesting pair mean that the grass is 
really tawny (tanned, dried up), and 
that the only ' green ' spot in it is Gon- 
zalo himself. 

In the passage in Hml. I, 3, 128, the 
reading in many eds. is dye ; in the 
folios, eye. Eye formerly signified a 
shade of colour, and it was also said to 
mean a very small quantity of any- 
thing, in proof of which Malone quotes 
from an old work on Virginia, "not an 
eye of sturgeon has yet appeared in the 
river." But may not eye here mean a 
single sturgeon, just as we might say 
of fish, "not a fin," and of cattle, 
"notahoof "? 

The expression, an eye of death, IHIV. 
I, 3, 143, is explained by Johnson and 
Steevens as "an eye menacing death," 
but Mason's gloss, "an eye expressing 
deadly fear," seems better. See 7. 

eye-beam. A glance ; a look. LLL. IV, 

3, 28. 

eye=glass. The lens of the eye. (Not the 
retina, as Schm. has it.) Wint. I, 2, 268. 

eyliad. See oeilliade. 

eyne. The old form of the plural of eye, 
LLL. V, 2, 206. 

eysell. See eisel. 



FA 



in 



FAD 




A. R. G. White notes that Sh. 
often shows that he was a 
musician as well as a lover of 
music, and the frequent refer- 
ences to the notes of the gamut show 
this. See LLL. IV, 2, 102; Shr. HI, 1, 
76, as well as the jocular reference in 
Rom. IV, 5, 121. The use of fa, sol, la, 
mi in Lr. I, 2, 149, has been the occasion 
of some display of musical learning. 
Dr. Burney, as quoted by Furness, 
says: "Sh. shows by the context that 
he was well acquainted with the pro- 
perty of these syllables in solmization, 
which imply a series of sounds so un- 
natural that ancient musicians pro- 
hibited their use. The monkish writers 
on music say : mi contra fa est dia- 
bolus : the interval fa mi, including a 
tritonus, or sharp 4th, consisting of 
three tones without the intervention of 
a semitone, expressed in the modern 
scale by the letters F, G, A, B, would 
form a musical phrase extremely dis- 
agreeable to the ear. Edmund, speak- 
ing of eclipses as portents and pro- 
digies, compares the dislocation of 
events, the times being out of joint, to 
the unnatural and offensive sounds, fa 
sol la mi. See gamut. 

On the other hand it is claimed that 
the humming of these notes by Edmund 
is merely the act of one who wishes to 
seem not to observe the approach of 
another. Moberly suggests that "the 
sequence ' fa sol la mi ' (with ' mi ' des- 
cending) is like a deep sigh, as may be 
easily heard by trial." 
Fabian, dr.p. Servant to Olivia. Tw. 
face. 1. To bully ; to lie with effrontery. 
Faced it with a card of ten (Shr. II, 1, 
407) is, according to Nares, ' ' a common 
phrase, originally expressing the confi- 
dence or impudence of one who with a 
ten, as at brag, faced or outfaced one 
who had really a faced card." 
2. To trim with facings. IHIV. V, 1, 74 ; 
Shr. IV, 3, 123. In the latter quotation 



there is a quibble between /ace, to trim, 
and /ace, to bully. Also between brave, 
to defy, and brave, to make fine or 
well-dressed. See brave. 

3. To carry a false appearance ; to play 
the hypocrite. Johnson. IHVI. V, 3, 
142. 

4. To patch. IHIV. IV, 2, 34. See 
ancient. 

In regard to the passage in Caes. II, 
1, 114, if not the face of men, the corns, 
are, as Craik says, "all alive here." 
For face it has been proposed to read 
fate, faiths, etc. " It is difficult to see 
much difficulty in the old reading, 
understood as meaning the looks of 
men. It is preferable, at any rate, to 
anything which has been proposed." 
Craik. 

face royal. A pun upon a royal face 
and the face upon a royal or ten-shilling 
piece of gold. 2HIV. I, 2, 26. See 
royal. 

facinerious. Claimed by some to be a 
word coined by ParoUes, and without 
meaning. All's. II, 3, 35. But ParoUes 
was a linguist, and did not make blun- 
ders of this kind like Pistol and Quickly. 
Steevens therefore corrected it to faci- 
norus, a well-established word which 
signifies atrociously wicked. And this 
meaning fits very well. FacineiHous 
is probably a printer's error. 

fact. Something done ; deed. Meas. IV, 
2, 141 ; All's. Ill, 7, 47 ; Wint. Ill, 2, 86. 
Schm. defines it as = evil deed, crime. 
This word does not of itself imply evil, 
but in Sh. it seems to be always used in 
connection with crime. 

factious. Active ; urgent. Cses. I, 3, 118. 
This is the etymological meaning of the 
word, and in this passage it conveys no 
hint of wrong, but elsewhere in Sh. it 
has the usual evil sense. 

factionary. Taking part in a quarrel or 
dissension. Cor. V, 2, 30. 

fadge. To suit ; to fit ; to succeed. LLL. 
V, 1, 154; Tw. 11,2,34, 



FAD 



112 



FAS 



fading. A kind of burden or ending to a 
song. Wint. IV, 4, 195. 

fail. FaUure. Wint. II, 3, 170 ; HVIII. 
II, 4, 198. 

fair. Beauty. As. Ill, 2, 99. An adjec- 
tive used as a substantive. 

fairing. A present. LLL. V, 2, 2. A 
word still used in Scotland in this sense, 
as in Burns's " Tarn O'Shanter : " 

Ah Tarn ! ah Tarn ! thou'l get thy 
fairin'. 

When lads and lasses, who are friends, 
meet at a fair, the lad is in duty bound 
to give the girl "her fairing." The 
word occurs but once in Sh., and has 
been erroneously explained by some as 
"making fair." I am told that the 
word is in use to-day all over England 
in the sense that I have given. 

fairy. An enchantress. Ant. IV, 8, 12. 

faithed. Credited. Lr. II, 1, 72. 

faitor. Evil-doer ; deceiver ; rogue ; vaga- 
bond. 2HIV. II, 4, 173. 

fall. 1. To let fall; to drop. As. 111,5,5. 

2. To befall ; to happen to. Ven. 472 ; 
John I, 1, 78. 

Still used in Scotland in this sense. 
See Burns's "Address to a Haggis": 

Fair fa' [fall] your honest sonsie face. 

3. To bring forth; to give birth to. 
Merch. I, 3, 89. 

fallible. Liable to error. Used impro- 
perly by the clown in Ant. V, 2, 258. 
In the First Folio it is printed falliable, 
which may possibly be an intentional 
vulgarism. 

fallow. Fawn colored. Wiv. I, 1, 91. 

false, V. To perjure ; to falsify. Cym. 
II, 3, 74. 

falsing. Deceptive. Err. II, 95. 

Falstaff, Sir John, dr.ij. IHIV; 2HIV 
and Wiv. 

fame. To make famous. Sonn. LXXXIV, 
11. 

familiar. 1. A particular friend. LLL. 
V, 1, 101 ; Tim. IV, 2, 10. 
2. A familiar spirit ; usually one attend- 
ant on a sorcerer. LLL. I, 2, 177 ; 2HVI. 
IV, 7, 114. 

fancies. Love songs : a name foi* a sort 



of light ballads or airs. Nares. 2HIV. 
Ill, 2, 342 ; Shr. Ill, 2, 70. 

fancy. Love. Lucr. 200 ; Wint. IV, 4, 
493 ; 0th. Ill, 4, 63. 

fancy=free. Untouched by love. Mids. 
II, 1, 164. 

f ancy=monger. A love-monger ; one who 
makes love his business. As. Ill, 2, 
382. 

fancy=sick. Love-sick. Mids. Ill, 2, 96. 

Fang, dr.p. A sheriff's officer. 2HIV. 

fang. To seize with the teeth or fangs ; 
to tear. Tim. IV, 3, 23. 

fangled. Fond of finery. Cym. V, 4, 
134. 

fantasied. Filled with fancies or imagin- 
ation. John IV, 2, 144. 

fap. Drunk. Wiv. I, 1, 183. 

farced. Stuffed ; extended. HV. IV, 1, 
280. 

fardel. A pack ; a burden. Hml. Ill, 1, 
76. 

far=fet. Literally, far-fetched; full of 
deep stratagems. 2HVI. Ill, 1, 293. 

farrow. A litter of pigs. Mcb. IV, 1, 
65. 

farthingale. A hooped petticoat. G-ent. 
II, 7, 51 ; Wiv. Ill, 3, 69. 

fartuous. Mrs. Quickly's form of virtu- 
ous. Wiv. II, 2, 100. 

fashions. A skin disease in horses ; now 
caUed farcy. Shr. Ill, 2, 54. 

fast and loose. This was a cheating 
game much practised in Sh, time, where- 
by gipsies and other vagrants beguiled 
the common people of their money, and 
hence very often seen at fairs. Its other 
name was "pricking at the belt or 
girdle ;" and it is thus described by Sir J. 
Hawkins: "A leathern belt was made 
up into a number of intricate folds and 
placed edgewise upon a table. One of 
the folds was made to resemble the 
middle of the girdle, so that whoever 
could thrust a skewer into it would 
think he held it fast to the table ; 
whereas, when he had so done, the 
person with whom he plays may take 
hold of both ends, and draw it away." 
It \^'as an easy matter for a juggler to 
make the belt either fast or loose at his 



FAS 



113 



FEA 



option after the skewer had been in- 
serted. It is frequently alluded to by 
old writers. Thus Drayton, in his 
"Mooncalf," tells us: 

He like a gypsy oftentimes would go, 
All kinds of gibberish he hath learned 

to know ; 
And with a stick, a shortstring, and a 

noose, 
AVould show the people tricks at fast 

and loose. 

This is what is referred to in Ant. IV, 
11, 28, and Nares thinks that it is this 
trick of the sharper's trade that Falstaff 
reconunends to Pistol (Wiv. II. 2, 19) 
when he says: "Go. A short knife 
and a throng. To your manor of Pickt- 
hatch ! Go." It is throng in Fl, but 
Pope emended to thong. The usual 
interpretation of this passage is that 
Falstaff recommends the cutting of 
purses in a throng, and for this advises 
him to get a short knife. At that time 
purses were usually carried suspended 
from the girdle. Hence the term cut- 
purse. This seems to be the most 
natural explanation of the passage. 

Fastolfe, Sir John, dr. p. IHVI. 

fat. Dull. LLL. Ill, 1, 105 ; Tw. V, 1, 
112. 

fat. It is generally believed that the de- 
scription of Hamlet — fat and scant of 
breath — applied to Burbage, the famous 
actor of Sh. time, who was the first im- 
personator of Hamlet. 

Fates, The. The three sisters who pre- 
sided over the destinies of men. Their 
names were Clotho, Lachesis and Atro- 
pos. According to Hesiod, it is Clotho 
who spins the web of man's destiny ; 
Lachesis who assigns to man his fate, 
and Atropos who cuts the thread of life. 
Hence Pistol's saying Come, Atrojjos, I 
saij! 2HIV. II, 4, 213. In works of 
art they are represented as grave 
maidens, with different attributes, viz. , 
Clotho with a spindle or a roll (the book 
of fate) ; Lachesis pointing with a staff 
to the horoscope on the globe, and 
Atropos with a pair of scales, or a sun- 
dial, or a pair of shears. 



father. The passage in As. I, 3, 11, my 

child'' s father , is by many regarded as 
corrupt, the claim being that the proper 
reading is iny father'' s child. The usual 
argument in favor of the latter reading 
is the indelicacy of the former one ; but 
this does not count for much in Sh. , the 
manners and habits of those times being 
so different from what they are now. 
I think, however, that a careful read- 
ing of the whole passage shows that it is 
for herself, i.e., her father'' s child., and 
" for the burs in her heart " that Rosa- 
lind is depressed. The thought embod- 
ied in the reading of the Fl is so far- 
fetched and, under the circumstances, 
so strained, that it points with almost 
certainty to a typographical error. 
fathered. See childed. 
fatigate. Fatigued. Cor. II, 2, 121. 
Faulconbridge, Lady, dr. p. Mother to 
Robert and Philip Faulconbridge. John. 
Faulconbridge, Philip, dr.p. Bastard 

son to Richard I. John. 
Faulconbridge, Robert, dr.p. Son of Sir 

Robert Faulconbridge. John. 
favour. Countenance; feature; aspect. 
IHIV. Ill, 2, 136. Defeat thy favour 
with a usurped heard (0th. I, 3, 346) 
= disguise yourself with a false beard. 
fay. Faith. Rom. I, 5, 128. 
fear, v. To affright; to terrify. Meas. 

II, 1, 2 ; 2HIV. IV, 4, 121. 
fearful. 1. Timorous. As. Ill, 3, 49. 
2. Terrible; inspiring fear. Lucr. 1741; 
Tp. V, 1, 106. 

It will be seen from the above (1 and 
2) that this word is used to convey two 
very different meanings. Just which 
of these meanings it should carry in the 
passage found in Tp. I, 2, 470, he''s gen- 
tle and not fearful., has caused some 
discussion. Furness favors the inter- 
pretation given by Ritson : " Do not 
rashly determine to treat him with se- 
verity, he is mild and harmless and not 
in the least terrible or dangerous.''^ 
Others would accept that of SmoUett, 
quoted by Reed from Humphrey Clink- 
er: "How have your commentators 
been puzzled by [this passage] as if it 



FEA 



114 



FEE 



was a paralogism to say that being gen- 
tle, he must of course be couy^ageous ; 
but the truth is, one of the original 
meanings, if not the sole meaning, of 
that word was noble, high-minded ; and 
to this day a Scotch woman in the 
situation of the young lady in The 
Tempest would express herself in nearly 
the same terms. Don't provoke him ; 
for, being gentle, that is, high-spirited, 
he won't tamely bear an insult. Spen- 
ser, in the v ery first stanza of the Faierie 
Queene, says : ' A gentle knight was 
pricking o'er the plain,' which knight, 
far from being tame and fearful, was 
so stout that ' Nothing did he dread, 
but ever was ydrad. ' " See gentle. 

feat, V. To make neat. Cym. I, 1, 49. 

feat, adj. Neat ; handy ; dextrous. Cym, 
V, 5, 88 ; Tp. II, 1, 373. 

feather. A forest of feathers, referring 
to the extravagant use of feathers as 
an ornament to the hat at one time. 
Hml. Ill, 2, 286. 

featly. Nimbly ; daintily, Tp. I, 2, 380. 

feature. Beauty, Cym. V, 5, 163. 

Feeble, dr.p. One of Falstaff's recruits. 
2HIV. 

feeder. 1. One who feeds and cares for 
animals, as sheep in As. II, 4, 99. Cer- 
tainly not an idler in this case, as de- 
fined in a recent glossary. 

2. One who eats ravenously ; a servant 
or perhaps a parasite. Tim. II, 2, 168. 

3. One who encourages. 2HIV. V, 
5,66. 

fee=farm. A kiss in fee-farm (Troil. 
Ill, 2, 53) "is a kiss of a duration that 
has no bounds, a fee-farm being a grant 
of lands in fee," that is for ever, re- 
serving a certain rent." Malone. 

fee=grief . A grief peculiar to one person ; 
literally, the peculiar property of one. 
Mcb, IV, 3, 196. 

fee==siinple. Absolute fee ; a fee that is 
not qualified ; absolute property in. 
Compl. 144 ; Wiv. IV, 2, 225 ; All's. IV, 
3, 312. 

fedary. Accomplice. Meas. II, 4, 122. 

federary. Same as fedary; an accom- 
plice. Wint. II, 1, 90. 



fehememtly. Evans's blunder for ve- 
hemently. Wiv. Ill, 1, 7. 

felicitate. Made happy. Lr. I, 1, 76, 

fell, n. Hide ; the entir e skin and wool or 
hair of an animal. As. Ill, 2, 55 ; Mcb. 
V, 5, 11, 

fell, adj. Fierce ; savage ; cruel, Mids. 
II, 1, 20 ; 0th. V, 2, 362. 

fell=lurking. Lurking to do mischief. 
2HVI. V, 1, 146. 

fellowly. Sympathetic. Tp. V, 1, 64. 

female actors. In the early dramas aU 
female characters were acted by boys 
or men. If the face did not exactly 
suit, they took advantage of the fashion 
of wearing masks, and then the actor 
had only his voice to modulate. Thus 
in Mids. I, 2, 50, Flute objects to play- 
ing a woman because he has a beard 
coming, and is told that he may play it 
in a mask and speak as small as he will. 
See cracked within the ring and hoy. 
This frequently gave rise to the most 
absurd situations. Thus Jordan, writ- 
ing in 1662, says : 

For to speak truth, men act, that are be- 
tween 

Forty and fifty, wenches of fifteen ; 

With bone so large, and nerve so incom- 
pliant. 

When you call Desdemona— enter Giant ! 

According to Collier, the first attempt 
to introduce women as actors on the 
English stage occurred in 1629, when a 
company of French comedians per- 
formed at the Blackfriars Theatre. 
Malone tells us that it is the received 
tradition that Mrs. Saunderson, who 
afterwards married Betterton, was the 
first English actress. 

These facts explain many passages in 
Sh. , especially Hml. II, 2, 449, and As. 
Epilogue. 

fence. Art or skill in defence. 2HVI. 
II, 1, 52 ; Tw. Ill, 4, 312. 

Fenton, dr.p. Lover and finally husband 
of Anne Page. Wiv. 

Ferdinand, dr.p. King of Navarre. 
LLL. 

Ferdinand, dr.p. Son to the King of 
Naples. Tp. 



FEE 



115 



riL 



feodary. One who holds an estate by suit 
or service to a superior or lord ; hence 
one who acts under the direction of 
another. Cym. Ill, 2, 21. 

fere. A companion; a mate (husband 
or wife). Tit. IV, 1, 89. 

fern=seed. The seed of the fern, of which 
Holt White says : " The ancients, who 
often paid more attention to received 
opinions than to the evidence of their 
senses, believed that ferns bore no seed. 
Our ancestors imagined that this plant 
produced seed which was Invisible. 
Hence, from an extraordinary mode of 
reasoning, founded on the fantastic 
doctrine of signatures, they concluded 
that they who possessed the secret of 
wearing this seed about them would 
become invisible." Hence it was a 
most important object of superstition, 
being gathered mystically, especially 
on Midsummer Eve. The superstition 
survived even to the days of Addison, 
who tells us that it was " impossible to 
walk the streets of London without 
having an advertisement thrust into 
your hand of a doctor who had arrived 
at the knowledge of the green and red 
dragon, and had discovered the female 
fern seed." This explains the remark 
of Gadshill, we have the receipt of 
fernseed, we ivalk invisible. IHIV. 
II, 1, 96. 

ferret, v. To worry. HV. IV, 4, 30. 

ferret, adj. Such ferret and such fiery 
eyes. Cses. I, 2, 186. Sharp and pierc- 
ing, like those of a ferret. According 
to Schm. and others, red or albino-like. 
A doubtful gloss. Some ferrets have 
red eyes, but Cicero was not an albino. 
It is more probable that ferret and fiery 
mean sharp and brilliant. Redness in 
eyes does not mean piercing. 

Feste, dr. p. A clown ; servant to Olivia. 
Tw. 

festinate. Hasty. Lr. Ill, 7, 10. 

fet. Fetched. HV. Ill, 1, 18. 

fetch, n. A trick ; a stratagem. Hml. 
II, 1, 38 ; Lr. II, 4, 90. 

fetch off. To make away with. Wint. 
I, 2, 334. 



fettle. To dress ; to prepare. Rom. Ill, 

5, 154. 
fewness. Rarity ; brevity. Meas. 1, 4, 39. 
fico. A fig. (Spanish.) Wiv. I, 3, 33. 

^eefig. 
fidiused. A word jocularly formed from 

the name of Aufidius, and meaning 

dealt with ; beaten. Cor. II, 1, 144. 
field. Battle ; combat ; war. LLL. Ill, 

I, 189 ; Mcb. V, 1, 4. 

field=bed. A camp-bed. Rom. II, 1, 40. 

fielded. Engaged in fight ; on the battle- 
field. Cor. I, 4, 12. 

fig, n. Literally, a well-known fruit, but 
as a token of worthlessness, as in the 
expression, "a fig for Peter" (2HVI. 

II, 3, 67), it undoubtedly arose from 
the verb to fig, as explained in next 
article. As Nares well says : " Figs 
were never so common in England as 
to be proverbially worthless." cf. Ant. 
I, 2, 32. 

Perhaps, however, it may be merely 
" fig's-end " shortened. A fig's-end is 
certainly a very worthless object, and 
it is, moreover, an old synonym for a 
thing of little value. Thus, in Withal's 
Dictionary we find Fumi umora non 
Smerim, rendered by " I will not give a 
fig's-end for it. " And in Oth. II, 1, 386, 
lago employs "Blessed fig's-end" as 
an expression of contempt. 

It seems to have been a common 
opinion that the fig was a favorite 
vehicle, as a physician would say, for 
administering poison. Dyce thinks Pistol 
alludes to this in his "fig of Spain." 
HV. Ill, 6, 62. Nares quotes several 
allusions to this in works near Shake- 
speare's time. 

fig, V. To insult by thrusting out the 
thumb between the two first fingers of 
the clenched hand. The custom was 
originaUy Spanish. 2HIV. V, 3, 123. 

fights, n. Cloth or canvas hung round a 
ship to conceal the men from the enemy. 
Wiv. II, 2, 142. 

f igo. See fico. 

file, n. 1. A list; a catalogue; a roll. 
All's. IV, 3, 189 ; Mcb. Ill, 1, 95 ; do. 
V. 3, 8. 



FIL 



116 



FLA 



2. A wire upon which papers are strung. 
All's. IV, 3, 231. 
file, V. 1. To polish. Sonn. LXXXV, 
4 ; LLL. V, 1, 12. 

2. To defile ; to stain. Mcb. Ill, 1, 65. 

3. To march in line ; to keep pace with. 
HVIII. Ill, 2, 171. 

fill. The thiU of a carriage. Troil. Ill, 
2, 48. This word is still in use in this 
sense in New England. 

fill-horse. Shaft horse; i.e., the horse 
that goes between the shafts. When 
two horses are driven tandem, one is 
the fill- or thill-horse and the other 
the fore-horse. Merch. II, 2, 100. See 
fore-horse. 

fillip. In Troil. IV", 5, 45, the word evi- 
dently means a stroke given by a jerk 
of the finger, but this is not the mean- 
ing in 2HIV, I, 2, 255, as given by 
Schm. The reference there is to a com- 
mon and cruel diversion practiced by 
boys. They lay a board two or three feet 
long, at right angles over a transverse 
piece two or three inches thick, then 
placing a toad at one end of the board, 
the other end is struck by a bat or 
large stick, which throws the poor ani- 
mal forty or fifty feet in the air, killing 
it, of course. Falstaif was so large and 
heavy that no ordinary bat or beetle 
would have served in his case. It would 
have required such a beetle as was used 
for driving piles, etc., and was worked 
by three or more men. 

filth. A coarse name for a common wo- 
man. Tim. IV, 1, 6. 

fine, n. The end. Ado. I, 1, 247 ; Hml. 
V, 1, 115. 

fine, V. To make fine or specious. Lucr. 
936 ; HV. I, 2, 72. In the latter passage 
many eds. readj^nd. 

fineless. Endless ; infinite. 0th. Ill, 3, 
173. This word occurs nowhere else 
in Sh. 

firago. Sir Toby's blunder for virago. 
Tw. Ill, 4, 302. 

fire=brand brother. See Althea and 
Paris. 

fire. To expel ; to drive out. Sonn. 
CXLIV, 14; Lr. V, 3, 23. 



fire-drake. A fiery dragon; a Will-o- 
the-wisp; a meteor. Used jocularly 
for a man with a red face. HVIII. 
V, 4, 45. 

fire=new. Brand-new ; newly-made — said 
of things in metal which are worked by 
fire, and applied metaphorically to 
others. LLL. I, 1, 179. 

firk. To beat. HV. IV, 4, 29. 

fishmonger. A seUer of fish. Hml. II, 
2, 174. Malone suggests that a pun was 
here intended, as fishmonger was a cant 
term for a licentious person. 

fisnomy. Physiognomy. AU's. IV, 5, 42. 

fit, A canto or division of a song. Troil. 

III, 1, 62. 

fitchew. A polecat; supposed to be very 
amorous ; hence used as an illustration 
of wantonness. Lr. IV, 6, 124 ; 0th. 

IV, 1, 150. 

fitted. Worked or vexed by paroxysms 
or fits. Sonn. CXIX, 7. 

Fit2;=Peter, Geoffrey, Earl of Essex, dr. p. 
John. 

Fitzwater, Lord, dr.p. RII. 

fives. A disease of horses, consisting of 
an inflammation of the parotid glands. 
Shr. Ill, 2, 54. 

five=f inger=tied. Tied by giving her hand. 
Troil. V, 2, 157. 

flamen. A priest of ancient Rome. Cor. 
II, 1, 229. 

Flaminius, dr.p. Servant to Timon. Tim. 

flannel. A well-known woolen stuff. A 
ludicrous name for a Welshman, Wales 
being noted for its flannel. Wiv. V, 
5, 172. 

flap=dragon, n. " A flap-dragon is some 
small combustible body, fired at one 
end, and put afloat in a glass of liquor. 
It is an act of a toper's dexterity to toss 
off the glass in such a manner as to 
prevent the flap-dragon from doing 
mischief." Johnson. " In former days 
gaUants used to vie with each other in 
drinking off flap-di'agons to the health 
of their mistresses, — which flap-dragons 
were generally raisins, and sometimes 
even candles' ends, swimming in brandy 
or other strong spirits, whence, when 
on fire, they were snatched by the 



FLA 



117 



FLU 



mouth and swallowed." Dyce. LLL. 

V, 1, 46. See candles'' end. 
flap=°dragon, v. To swallow as gallants 

in their revels swallow a flap-dragon. 

Wint. Ill, 3, 100. 
flap=jack. A pancake. Per. II, 1, 87. 
flap=mouthed. Havhig broad hanging 

lips. Ven. 920. (A dog is here meant. ) 
flat. Positive ; certain. IHIV. IV, 2, 43. 
fIat=!ong. With the flat side down ; not 

edgewise. Tp. II, 1, 181. 
flatness. Depth ; completeness. Wint. 

Ill, 2, 123. 
Flavius, dr. p. A Roman tribune. Caes. 
Flavius, di'.p. Steward to Timon. Tim. 
flaw, n. 1. A fragment; a breach; a 

crack. LLL. V, 2, 415 ; Lr. II, 4, 288. 

2. Misfortune. Ant. Ill, 12, 34. 

3. A sudden gust of wind. Hml. V, 1, 
239. 

4. Fits of passion. Meas. II, 3, 11 ; Mcb. 
Ill, 4, 63. 

flaw, V, To break ; to crack. HVIII. I, 
1, 95 ; Lr. V, 3, 196. 

flax, A bag of flax? Wiv. V, 5, 159. 
As flax was never packed in bags and 
has no significance in this passage, 
should we not read fiux f See ' ' Shake- 
spearean Notes and New Readings," 
p. 10. 

flax=wench. A woman whose occupation 
it is to dress flax. One of the lowest 
occupations assigned to women, and 
hence an indication of low position and 
character. Wint. I, 2, 277. 

Fleance, dr.p. Son of Banquo. Mcb. 

flecked. Spotted ; dappled. Rom, II, 3, 
3. In some eds. fleckled and fleckered. 

fleer. To sneer ; to grin in scorn. LLL. 
V, 2, 109; Ctes. I, 3, 117. Palsgrave, as 
quoted by Halliwell, explains it as mak- 
ing "an yvil countenaunce with the 
mouthe by uncoueryng of the tethe." 

Fleet, The. A famous London prison, 
formerly standing on Farringdon Street, 
and long used for debtors. Stowe 
speaks of it as " the Fleete, a prison 
house, so called of the fleet or water 
running by it. ' ' Yroraflede., the Anglo- 
saxon for stream. It was abolished in 
1844, and the "stream" is now a cov- 



ered sewer. 2HIV. V, 5, 96. A good 

description of the internal economy of 

The Fleet may be found in "Little 

Dorritt." 
fleet. 1. To float. Ant. Ill, 13, 171. 
2. To pass quickly. 2HVI. 11,4,4. To 

make to pass quickly. As. I, 1, 124. 
fleeting. Inconstant. Lucr. 212 ; RIII. 

I, 4, 55. 
flesh. 1. To give flesh to ; to satiate. 

All's. IV, 3, 19 ; 2HIV. IV, 5, 133. 

2. To initiate in slaughter ; to feed with 
flesh for the first time. IHIV. V, 4, 133. 

3. Savage ; hardened ; eager for slaugh- 
ter. HV. Ill, 3, 11 ; RIII. IV, 3, 6. 

fleshment. The act of fleshing; fierce- 
ness. Lr. II, 2, 130. 

fleshmonger. A fornicator. Meas. V, 
I, 337. 

flewed. Having large hanging chaps. 
Mids. IV, 1, 125. 

flight. A long, light arrow. Ado. I, 1, 40. 

flighty. Swift. Mcb. IV, 1, 145. 

flirt=gill. A woman of light behaviour. 
Rom. II, 4, 162. 

flock. A tuft of wool. IHIV. II, 1, 7. 

floods. That "floods" and deep waters 
were sometimes the abode of " damned 
spii'its " was an old and popular super- 
stition. The spirits of those who were 
drowned and who never had proper 
burial rites bestowed on their bodies 
were supposed to wander for a hundred 
years. Mids. Ill, 2, 383. 

Florence, Duke of, dr. p. All's. 

Florence, a widow of, dr. p. All's. 

Florizel, dr.p. Son to Polixenes. Assumes 
the name of D orioles. Wint. 

flote. Wave ; sea. Tem. I, 2, 234. 

flourish, n. Ostentatious embellishment. 
LLL. II, 1,14; do. IV, 3, 238. 

flourish, V. To excuse; to gloss over. 
Meas. IV, 1, 75. 

Fluellen, dr.p. An oflBcer in Henry V's 
army. HV. 

flurted. Scorned. Kins. I, 2. 

flush. In its prime ; full of vigor. Hml. 
Ill, 3, 81 ; Anfc. I, 4, 52. 

Flute, dr.p. A bellows mender who 
takes part in the play of Pyramus and 
Thisbe. Mids. 



FOB 



118 



FOB 



fob. To cheat ; to trick. 0th. IV, 2, 197. 

See fuh. 
fobbed. Cheated. IHIV. I, 2, 68. 
foil. 1. Defeat. IHVI. V, 3, 23. 
2. Blemish. Tp. Ill, 1, 46 ; Ant. I, 4, 24. 
foin. To make a thrust as in fencing. 

2HIV. II, 4, 252 (with an evident 

quibble). 
foison. Plenty. Mcb. IV, 3, 88. 
fond. 1. Foolishly affectionate. 0th. I, 

3, 320. 

2. Foolish; without any indication of 
affection. IHVI. II, 3, 4.5. 

3. Slight ; trifling ; trivial. Meas. II, 2, 
149; 0th. II, 1, 139. 

fondly. Foolishly. RII. Ill, 3, 186. 
fool=begged. Absurd. Err. II, 1, 41. 
fool' s= head. The emblems of a fool as 
worn on the head ; a coxcomb. Wiv. 

I, 4, 134. 

foot=cloth. A saddle-cloth hanging down 
to the ground. 2HVI. IV, 7, 51. 

foot=land=raker. A pedestrian vagabond. 
IHIV. II, 1, 81. 

foppish. Foolish. Lr. I, 4, 182. 

forbid. Cursed ; outlawed. Mcb. I, 3, 21. 

forbod. Forbidden. Comp. 164. 

force. 1. To reinforce ; to strengthen. 
Mcb. V, 5, 5. 

2. To attribute falsely. Wint. II, 3, 78. 
"Leontes had ordered Antigoniis to 
take up the bastard; Pauline forbids 
him to touch the princess under that 
appellation. Forced is false, uttered 
with violence to truth." Johnson. 

3. To stuff. (A form of farce.) Troil. 

II, 3, 232. 

4. To hesitate ; to care about doing a 
thing. LLL. V, 2, 440. 

As an illustration of this use of force. 
Collier quotes from the interlude of 
Jacob and Esau (1568) • 

O, Lorde ! some good body, for God's 

sake, gyve me meate, 
I force not what it were, so that I had 
to eate. 
Ford, dr.p. A gentleman dwelling at 
Windsor ; assumes the name of Brook. 
Wiv. 
Ford, Mrs., dr.p. One of "the wives." 
Wiv. 



fordo. 1. To undo ; to destroy. Hml. 
II, 1, 103. 
2. To tire ; to exhaust. Mids. V, 1, 381. 

foregoers. Ancestors. All's. II, 3, 144. 

forehorse. In a team the horse which 
goes foremost. At one time the fore- 
horse was gaily ornamented with tufts 
and ribbons and bells. All's. II, 1, 30. 
Bertram here complains that he will 
have to squire and usher in ladies 
instead of going to the wars. Qee fill- 
horse. 

foreign. Of another country ; foreign 
man = one living abroad. HVIII. II, 

2, 129. 

forepast. Antecedent. All's. V, 3, 121. 

foreslow. To delay. 3HVI. II, 3, 56. 

fore=spurrer. One that rides before ; a 
harbinger. Merch. II, 9, 95. 

foreward. The vanguard. RIII. V, 3, 
293. 

forefoot. Pistol's word for the hand. 
HV. II, 1, 71. 

forfend. To avert ; forbid. 3HVI. II, 1, 
191 ; Lr. V, I, 11. 

forgery. In v^ention; devising. Hml. IV, 
7, 90. 

forgetive. Inventive ; full of imagina- 
tion. This and the word forgery are 
derived from the word forge in the 
sense of to make. 2HIV. Ill, 1, 8. 

fork. 1. The tongue of an adder or 
snake. Meas. Ill, 1, 16, 
2. A barbed arrow-head. Lr. I, 1, 146. 

forked. Horned ; a reference to cuck- 
oldom. Wint. I, 2, 186 ; Oth. Ill, 3, 
276. 

forspeak. To speak against. Ant. Ill, 
7,3. 

forspent. 1. Previously bestowed. Cym. 

II, 3, 64. 

2. Past ; foregone. HV. II, 4, 36. 

3. Weary ; exhausted. 2HIV. I, 1, 37. 
forted. Fortified ; strengthened. Meas. 

V, 1, 12. 
forth. Out of. Mids. I, 1, 164; 2HVL 

III, 2, 89. 

forth-right. A straight path. Tp. Ill, 

3, 3 ; Troil. Ill, 3, 158. See meander. , 
Fortinbras, dr.p. Prince of Norway. 

Hml. 



FOR 



119 



FRO 



for wearied. Quite worn out ; exhausted. 
John, II, 1, 233. 

fosset=seller. One who sells fossets or 
faucets ; pipes to be inserted in casks so 
as to allow the liquor to be drawn off. 
Cor. II, 1, 79. 

foutra. A corruption of an indecent 
French word, not unfrequently used of 
old by the gross and vulgar as an ex- 
pression of contempt. Pistol did not 
know its meaning, and his readers need 
be no wiser than he. White. SHI V. V, 
3, 103. See Cotgrave. 

fox. A sword. Most glossaries give this 
word as a cant term, but there is good 
reason for supposing that it was a 
specific name for a sword of a particular 
English manufacture, not German, as 
stated by some. Thus, in an old play, 
The White Devil, we find : 

O, what blade is it? 
A Toledo or an English Fox ? 
In the same way old sportsmen used to 
speak of a "Joe Manton," meaning 
thereby a choice gun made by that 
celebrated gunsmith. So in The Cap- 
tain, by Beaumont and Fletcher, we 
find: 

Put up your sword, 
I've seen it often ; 'tis a fox. 

The name is said to have originated 
from the figure of a fox (not a wolf) 
engraved on the blade. Halliwell thinks 
it was so called because the blade was 
red. This is a very probable suggestion , 
as it may have been " browned " like a 
gun-barrel, partly to keep it from 
rusting, and partly to bring out the 
beautiful grain of well-wrought steel. 
HV, IV, 4, 9. 

foxship. Cunning and selfishness. Cor. 
IV, 2, 18. 

fraction. 1. Breach ; discord. Troll. II, 
3, 107. 

2. Fragment ; scrap. Troil. V, 2, 158 ; 
Tun. II, 2, 220. 

frampold. Uneasy ; vexatious ; quarrel- 
some. Wiv. II, 2, 94. 

France, King of, dr. p. All's. 

France, King of, dr. p. Lr. 

France, Princess of, dr.p. LLL. 



Francisca, dr.p. A nun. Meas. 
Francisco, dr.p. A soldier. Hml, 
Francisco, dr.p. A lord of Naples. Tp. 
frank. A pen or enclosure. Cot. defines 

franc as " a franke or stie, to feed and 

fatten hogs in. " 2HIV. II, 2, 160. 
frank, v. To shut up in a frank or sty. 

RIII. I, 3, 314. 
franklin. A yeoman ; a freeholder. Wint. 

V, 2, 173 ; Cym. Ill, 2, 79. 
fraught, n. Load ; cargo ; contents. 0th. 

III, 3, 449. 

fraught, vh. To load ; to burden. Cym. 

I, 1, 126. 
fraughtage. Freight ; cargo. Err. IV, 

I, 87. 

Frederick, dr.p. Brother to the banished 

duke. As. 
freeze. See frieze. 
fresh. A spring of fresh water. Tp. Ill, 

3,75. 
fresh=new. Unpractised; inexperienced. 

Per. Ill, 1, 41. 
fresh=fish. A novice. HVIII. II, 3, 86. 
fretted. Variegated ; adorned. Caes. 

II, 1, 104; Hml. II, 2, 313; Cym. II, 
4, 88. 

friar. Robin Hood''s fat friar (Gent. 

IV, 1, 36) is, of course, the famous 
Friar Tuck of the ballads, the Holy 
Clerk of Copmanshurst of Ivanhoe, and 
the Curtal Friar of Fountain's Abbey. 
For Robin Hood see Hood, Robin. 

Friar Francis, dr.p. Ado. 

Friar John, dr.p. A Franciscan. Rom. 

Friar Laurence, dr.p. A Franciscan. 

Rom. 
friend, v. To befriend ; to favor. TroU. 

I, 2, 84; HVIII. I, 2, 140; Cym. II, 

3, 52. 
frieze. A thick woolen cloth of loose 

texture to which birdlime would stick 

very firmlv. Freeze in Fl ; frize in the 

Globe. 0th. II, 1, 127. 
frippery. A shop where old clothes are 

sold. Tp. IV, 1, 225. 
frize. See frieze. 
from. 1. Away from; far from. Tim. 

IV, 3, 533. 
2. Contrary to, Mcb. Ill, 1, 100; Hml. 

III, 2, 22. 



FRO 



130 



FUN 



So in the passage, Write from it if 
you can, in hand or phrase (Tw. V, 
1, 340), the meaning obviously is : 
Write in a different manner if you can. 

front. The passage HVIII. 1, 2, 42, has 
caused some discussion, which seems 
superfluous. To front is to present 
one's face, and Wolsey claims to do this, 
but in that file where others tell steps 
with him. 

frontlet. A band worn on the forehead ; 
hence, metaphorically, a look. Lr. I, 
4, 208. 

frontier, 1. An outwork in fortification. 
IHIV. II, 3, 55. 
2. Opposition. IHIV. I, 3, 19. 

Froth, dr. p. A foolish gentleman. Meas. 

froth. To fill up a pot of beer by causing 
the liquid to froth. This was sometimes 
done by putting a little soap in the bot- 
tom of the tankard. Wiv. I, 3, 15. See 
lime. 

fruitful. In addition to the sense to 
which this word is now almost entirely 
confined, we find it used in Sh. with 
two other and distinct meanings. 

1. Plenteous; copious. Meas. IV, 3, 161; 
Tim. V, 1, 153 ; Hml. I, 2, 80. 

2. Liberal ; bountiful. HVIII. I, 3, 56 ; 
0th. II, 3, 347. 

In the passage in Cym. V, 4, 55, 
fruitful evidently means rich in good 
qualities. 

fruitfully. Copiously in Lr. IV, 6, 270. 
But it is doubtful if it has this meaning 
in All's. II, 2, 73, as Schm. gives it. It 
may mean completely, but why not the 
usual sense ? The countess asks the 
clown if he understands her ; he replies 
"most fruitfully," and promises instant 
action, i.e., that his understanding of 
her wishes will inamediately bring forth 
fruit. 

frush. To bruise; to batter. Troil. V, 
6, 29. 

frustrate. Vain; ineffectual. Tp, III, 
3, 10. 

fub off. To put off ; to delay. 2HIV. II, 
1,37. See/o6. 

full. Complete ; perfect. 0th. II, 1, 36. 
As used in Ado. I, 1, 110, is an ex- 



pression evidently borrowed from the 
tilt-yard. You have it full = your 
adversary has made a straight push 
without swerving or missing. Or, as 
Furness says: "In sporting language 
of to-day, Don Pedro would have said : 
' You have sl facer, Benedick.' " 

Or in the still more recent slang of the 
prize ring : " Benedick, you have got it 
in the solar plexus. " 

But it certainly has not the meaning 
given to it by the learned Dr. Schmidt 
in his " Shakespeare- Lexicon " : " You 
are the man, you will do." 

full=acorn'd. Fully fed with acorns, the 
most invigorating and exciting food 
that can be given to swine. Cym. II, 
5, 16. cf. larmen. 

fullam. The cant name for some kinds 
of false dice. Wiv. I, 3, 94. 

There were high ftillams and low 
fullams, probably from being full or 
loaded with some heavy metal on one 
side so as to produce a bias, which 
would make them come high or low as 
they were wanted. Dyce suggests that 
in the passage (Wint. V, 1, 207) The 
odds for high and low^s alike, there is 
an allusion to high and low dice, with a 
quibble, of course. See gourd. 

fulsome. 1. Lustful. Merch. I, 3, 87. 
2. Disgusting. Tw. V, 1, 112. 

fume. 1. To be dull ; stupifled. Ant. II, 
1 24. 
2.' To be in a rage. Shr. II, 1, 253. 

fumiter, ) The fwtnaria officinalis, 

fumitory. ) a weed common in cornfields. 
Lr. IV, 4, 3; HV. V, 2, 45. 

function. Power of thinking and acting. 
0th. II, 3, 354 ; Mcb. I, 3, 140. On the 
latter passage Johnson has the following 
comment: "All powers of action are 
oppressed and crushed by one over- 
whelming image in the mind, and 
nothing is present to me but that which 
is really future. Of things now about 
me I have no perception, being intent 
wholly on that which has yet no exist- 
ence. " 

funeral. The folk-lore of death, burials 
and funerals, as found in Sh. , is quite 



FUH 



121 



riTS 



extensive. We can touch upon only 
one or two points. In Cym. IV, 2, 256, 
Guiderius says : We must lay his head 
to the east ,' my father hath a reason 
for H. On this R. Gr. White remarks : 
" The reason was that the British 
people, whom our Anglo-saxon and 
pagan forefathers supplanted, were 
Christians ; and antiquarians now de- 
termine the nationality of ancient 
sepulchral remains in England by the 
direction of the graves in which they 
are found. If the graves are oriented, 
the remains are those of ancient Britons ; 
if not, of Anglo-saxons or Danes., But 
how did this man, Shakespeare, know 
all these things ? 

Amongst curious superstitions current 
in the time of Sh. was that which held 
that death was delayed till the ebb of 
the tide. In various accounts of deaths 
recorded in parish registers and else- 
where it is noted that the death occurred 
just at the turning of the tide. And 
this is referred to in HV. II, 3, 13, in 
Mrs. Quickly's description of Falstaff 's 
death. Another interesting custom of 
the ancients was the use of lamps in 
the sepulchres of the dead. This is 
referred to in Per. Ill, 2, 63, and ac- 
cording to some, in Troil. Ill, 2, 167. 
In most cases these lamps were probably 
kept burning by loving hands, but 
there was a legend that the ancients 
possessed the art of constructing per- 
petual lamps, i.e., lamps that burned 
forever without any attention. Of this 
legend, writers on the "lost arts " have 
made much, but there is no reason to 
believe that there was any truth in it. 
Furies. These were the Avenging Deities, 
three in number, Tisiphone, the avenger ; 
Alecto, the unresting, and Mega?ra, the 
jealous. Alecto alone is mentioned by 
name by Sh. In the works of later 
writers they gradually assumed the 
character of goddesses who punished 
men after death, and they seldom ap- 
peared on earth. Homer describes 
them, under the name of Erinyes, as 
pursuing the living. He represents 



them as inhabitants of Erebos, where 
they remain quiet until some curse pro- 
nounced upon a criminal calls them 
into activity. They took away from 
men all peace of mind and led them 
into misery and misfortune. 

furnace. To exhale like a furnace. Cym. 
I, 6, 66. 

furnishings. This word, as it occurs in Lr. 
Ill, 1, 29, has been interpreted in several 
different ways. Steevens suggested that 
the word here meant samples^ and cites 
Greene's GroaVs worth of Witte for 
an example : "For to lend the world a 
furnish of witte she layes her own to 
pawne." Hudson explains it as mean- 
ing : ' ' These things are but the trim- 
mings or appendages, not the thing 
itself, but only the circumstances or 
furniture of the thing." Kolfe adopts 
Johnson's gloss: "Colors; external 
pretences." It would seem that what 
is really meant by furnishings here is 
what might be called in miners' lan- 
guage, surface indications. 

furred pack. A wallet or knapsack of 

skin with the hair outward. Johnson. 

Evidently home-made of untanned 

hide, and consequently of cheap, and, 

-perhaps, stolen material. 2HVI. IV, 2, 

51. 

furrow weeds. Weeds growing in the 
furrows of a grain field where, owing 
to the moisture, they grew more rank 
than elsewhere. Lr. IV, 4, 3. 

fust, V. To grow fusty, rusty, or mouldy. 
Hml. IV, 4, 39. 

fustian, n. 1. A coarse cotton stuff. 
Shr. IV, 1, 49. 

2. High-sounding nonsense. 0th. II, 3, 
282. 

fustian, adj. High-sounding, and at the 
same time nonsensical. Tw. II, 5, 119 ; 
2HIV. II, 4, 203. 

fustilarian. A low term of contempt, 
perhaps derived from fusty, but more 
probably a nonsensical word coined by 
Falstaff for the occasion and used for 
its mere sound, as were other words in 
the same sentence. 2HIV. II, 1, 66. 

fusty. Mouldy. Troil. I, 3, 161. 



GAB 



133 



GAN 




>ABERDINE. According to Cot. 
the " gabbardine " was "a 
long coat or cassock of course 
[i.e., coarse] and for the most 
part motley or partie-colored stuffe." 
See Cot. s.v. galleverdme. It was 
made with or without a hood or sleeves, 
and was the distinctive dress of the 
Jews when their manner of dressing 
was prescribed by law. Merch. I, 3, 
113. It must have been worn quite 
loose by common people, since Trinculo 
could find room to creep under the 
gaberdine of Caliban. Tp. II, 2, 40. 
gad. A goad ; a sharp-pointed instru- 
ment. Upon the gad (Lr. I, 2, 26) = 
suddenly ; upon the spur of the mom ent. 
Gadshill, dr.p. A follower of Sir John 

Falstaff. IHIV. 
gain=giving. Misgiving. Hml. V, 2, 226. 
gait. Going ; advance ; way. Hml. I, 2, 
31. Go your gait (Lr. IV, 6, 242) = go 
your way. (Scotch.) Sometimes spelled 
gate, as in other gates, q.v. 
gall. To scoff ; to jest. HV. V, 1, 78. 
galliard. A nimble and lively dance. 
. Tw. I, 3, 127. 

gallias. A large gaUey. Shr. II, 1, 380. 
gallimaufry. A medley ; a hotch-potch. 

Wiv. II, 1, 119 ; Wint. IV, 4, 335. 
gallow. To frighten. Lr. Ill, 2, 44. 
gallows. One who ought to be executed 

on a gallows. LLL. V, 2, 13. 
gallowglasses. Heavy-armed foot-sol- 
diers of Ireland and the Western Isles. 
2HVI. IV, 9, 26 ; Mcb. I, 2, 13. 
Galloway nags. One of Pistol's bom- 
bastic phrases of which he himself 
evidently did not understand the mean- 
ing. 2HIV. II, 4, 205. See nag. 

Johnson explains the term as "com- 
mon hackneys," and most eds., follow- 
ing his hint, add : " The Galloway 
horses were a small and inferior breed." 
They certainly were not "inferior," 
although small. They have always 
been noted for their speed and en- 



durance. In the old play of The Trouble- 
some Raigne of King John, the Bastard 
tells the king that : 

Myselfe upon a galloway right free, 

well pac'd, 
Outstript the flouds that followed 

wave by wave, 
I so escap'd to tell this tragicke tale. 

So, too, Dumple, the famous horse of 
of Dandle Dinmont, was a Galloway. 
Johnson did not know much about 
horses ; witness his definition of pastern 
as " the knee of a horse ! ! " 

Qallus, dr.p. A friend to Csesar. Caes. 

gamester. 1. A frolicsome fellow ; a 
merry rogue. As. I, 1, 170; Shr. II, 
1, 402. 

2. A courtizan. AU's. V, 3, 188; Per. 
IV, 6, 81. 

gamut. The diatonic scale in music. 
The names of the notes were taken 
from certain initial syllables of a monk- 
ish hymn to St. John, and at first were 
ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si. The name ut 
was displaced by the more sonorous 
syllable do. In Sh. time, and until 
a comparatively recent date, the syl- 
lables for solmization, instead of do re 
mi fa sol la si were fa sol la fa sol la 
mi. Shr. Ill, 1, 67. See /a. 

Ganymede. The name assumed by Rosa- 
lind when she fled to the forest of 
Arden. As. I, 3, 127. 

Ganymede was said to be the most 
beautiful of aU mortals. He was 
carried off by the gods so that he might 
live amongst the eternal deities and 
serve as cup-bearer to Jupiter. Jupiter 
compensated the father of Ganymede 
(Tros) with the present of a pair of 
divine horses, and Hermes or Mercury, 
who dehvered the horses, comforted 
him by the information that by the 
wiU of Jupiter, Ganymede had become 
immortal and exempt from old age. 

The idea of Ganymede being the cup- 
bearer of Jupiter subsequently gave 



GAO 



133 



GEN 



rise to his identification with the divinity 
who was believed to preside over the 
sources of the Nile, and of his being 
placed by astronomers among the stars 
under the name of Aquarius. Kins. 
IV, 2. 

Another legend is that AUrora or 
Eos fell in love with him and carried 
him off, as she did several others. See 
Aurora. 

In works of art Ganymede is fre- 
quently represented as a beautiful 
youth with the Phrygian cap. He 
appears either as a companion of Jupiter 
or in the act of being carried off by an 
eagle or of giving food to an eagle from 
a patera. 

Handsome slaves, who officiated as 
cup-bearers, were sometimes called 
Ganymedes. 

Gaoler, dr.p. Kins. 

Gaoler's Daughter, dr.p. Kins. 

garboil. Disturbance ; tumult ; uproar. 
Ant. I, 3, 61. 

gardon. Costard's blunder for guerdon. 
LLL. Ill, 1, 171. 

Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, dr.p. 
HVIII. 

Gargantua. A giant described by Rabe- 
lais. The name, according to Cot., 
means great throat. He had an enor- 
mous appetite, and a mouth so large 
that at one mouthful he swallowed, by 
accident, five pilgrims, with their 
staves and all, in his salad. Hence 
Celia's expression about Gargantua 's 
mouth and big words. The term was 
applied to Dr. Johnson on account of 
his using ' ' words which required the 
mouth of a giant to pronounce them." 
See Boswell's " Life of Johnson." Pope 
spelled the name erroneously Gara- 
ga,ntua, and this error is found in 
many eds. As. HI, 2, 238. 

Qargrave, Sir Thomas, dr.p. IHVI. 

gaskins. Loose breeches. Tw. I, 5, 27. 

gasted. Frightened. Lr. II, 1, 57. 

gastness. Ghastliness. 0th. V, 1, 106. 

gaudy. In addition to other meanings, 
signifies festive, as in Ant. Ill, 13, 183. 

gave. Misgave ; doubted. My mind gave 



me (HVIII. V, 3, 109) = I was afraid ; 

I suspected. 
gawds. Toys ; knick-knacks. Mids. I, 1, 

33. 
gaze. An object of wonder. Mcb. V, 

8, 24. 
gear. 1. Stuff; dress. Rom. V, 1, 60; 

LLL. V, 2, 303. 
2. Affair; business. Merch. II, 2, 176; 

2HVI. I, 4, 17. 
geek. A dupe ; a fool. Tw. V, 1, 351. 
Geoffrey Fitz=Peter, Earl of Essex, dr.p. 

John. 
George. The figure of Saint George on 

horseback, worn by Knights of the Gar- 
ter. 2HVI. IV, 1, 29 ; RIII. IV, 4, 366. 
George, dr.p. A follower of Jack Cade. 

2HVL 
George, Duke of Clarence, dr.p. 3HVI. 

and RIII. 
geld. 1. To deprive of an essential part. 

LLL. II, 1, 149 ; RII. II, 1, 237 ; IHIV. 

III, 1, 110. 

2. To castrate. Meas. II, 1, 242. 
geminy. A pair. Wiv. II, 2, 9. 
gender. Kind ; race. Phoenix, 18 ; Hml. 

IV, 7, 18 ; 0th. I, 3, 326. 

general. The common people. Hml. II, 
2, 457 ; Meas. II, 4, 27. 

general of our gracious empress. The 
allusion here, HV. V, Prol. 30, is to the 
Earl of Essex, and the prophecy was a 
most unfortunate one. In April, 1599, 
he went to Ireland to suppress the re- 
bellion of Tyrone. His departure was 
marked by an ovation in which all 
■ranks and conditions joined, pressing 
around him and cheering and blessing 
him. Becoming fearful that because 
of his absence from court his influence 
with the queen was waning, he re- 
turned, without leave, in September of 
the same year, solitary and in secret, 
and although kindly received by her 
majesty, this was the beginning of his 
downfall. 

generosity. Nobility. Cor. I, 1, 217. 

generous. Of noble birth. Meas. IV, 6, 
13 ; Oth. Ill, 3, 280. 

gennet. A horse of the race of the Barbs, 
Oth. I, 1, 113. 



GEN 



124 



GOB 



gentle, vb. To ennoble. HV. IV, 3, 63. 
gentry. 1. People of high social stand- 
ing. All's. I, 2, 16; Mcb. V, 2, 9. 

2. Rank by birth. Lucr. 569 ; Wiv. II, 
1,53. 

3. Courtesy; conduct becoming a gen- 
tleman. Hml. II, 2, 22. 

germens. Germs ; seeds. Mcb. IV, 1, 
59 ; Lr. Ill, 2, 8. 

Qerrold, dr. p. A schoolmaster. Kins. 

Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, dr. p. Hml. 

gest. A lodging or stay for rest in a 
progress or journey. Kersey. 

The gest was appointed not only for 
place but for length of stay. Wint. I, 
2, 41. 

gests. Deeds ; exploits. Ant. IV, 8, 2. 

ghasted. Frightened. Lr. II, 1, 57. 

Ghost of Hamlet's father, dr.p. Hml. 

ghost. In the days of Sh. , and for some 
years after, the word ghost was used to 
signify the dead body as well as the 
soul or spirit. 2HVI. Ill, 2, 161. 

gibbet. Usually, to hang on a gallows, 
but sometimes, to hang on or upon any- 
thing. Thus, in 2HIV. Ill, 2, 282, 
swifter than he that gibbets on the 
breiver^s bucket, alludes to the manner 
of carrying a barrel by putting it on a 
sling made for the purpose. To hang 
or gibbet a barrel on the pole must be 
done by a quick movement, as there are 
two hooks which must both be attached 
at the same time. 

Qibbet=maker. The clown's blunder for 
Jupiter. Tit. IV, 3, 80. 

gib=cat. A male cat. IHIV. I, 2, 83. 
Tibert is old French for Gilbert, and 
appears as the name of the cat in the 
old story of "Reynard the Fox." 
Chaucer, in " The Romaunt of the 
Rose," gives " Gibbe our cat" as the 
translation of " Thibert le cas." V, 
6204. From Thibert, Tib also was a 
common name for a cat, 

gig. A top. LLL. IV, 3, 167. 
giglet, ) 1. A lewd woman. Meas. V, 352. 
giglot. i 2. A giddy girl (riot necessarily 
bad). IHVI. IV, 7, 41 ; Cym. Ill, 1, 31. 
gilder. See guilder. 
gilt. Money. HV. II, Prol. 26. 



gimmal. Made with links or rings. HV. 
IV, 2, 49. 

gimmor. A contrivance; an invention. 
IHVI. I, 2, 41. 

gin. To begin. Mcb. I, 2, 25. Usually 
supposed to be a contraction of begin, 
but, as shown by Todd, really from the 
Saxon gynnan. It is very common in 
all old writers, and is used through all 
the tenses, which can no longer be 
thought extraordinary now that it is 
known to be the original form. In Fl., 
Hml. I, 4, 90, there is no apostrophe 
before gins, as is generally the case in 
modern eds. 

ging. A gang ; a pack. Wiv. IV, 2, 123. 

gird, n. A gibe ; a sarcasm. Shr. V, 2, 
58. 

gird, V. To make fun of. It is the word 
gride, to cut ; to pierce ; the position of 
the r being changed. 2HIV. I, 2, 7. 

gird. To gibe. 2HIV. 1, 2, 7. OriginaUy 
to cut as with a switch ; now to cut 
with wit. 

Qis. A corruption of Jesus. Hml. IV, 
5, 58. 

Qlansdale, Sir WiUiam, dr.p. IHVI. 

glass=faced. Reflecting as in a mirror 
the looks of another. Tim. I, 1, 58. 

gleek, n. A scoff. IHVI. Ill, 2, 123. 

gleek, V. To scoff. Mids. Ill, 1, 150. 

Qlendower, Owen, dr.p. IHIV. 

glib. To emasculate. Wint. II, 1, 149. 

Gloucester, Duchess of, dr.p. RII. and 
2HVI. 

Gloucester, Duke of, dr.p. Brother to 
Henry V. HV. 

Gloucester, Duke of, dr.p. Uncle and 
Protector to Henry VI. HVI. 

Gloucester, Duke of, dr.p. Afterwards 
Richard III. RIII. 

Gloucester, Earl of, dr.p. Lr. 

Gloucester, Prince Humphrey of, dr.p. 
Son to Henry IV. 2HIV. 

gloze. A tirade ; words not to the pur- 
pose. LLL. IV, 3, 370. 

glut. To swallow. Tp. I, 1, 63. 

Gobbo, Launcelot, dr.p. Servant to 
Shylock. Merch. 

Gobbo, Old, dr.p. Father to Launcelot 
Gobbo. Merch. 



GOD 



125 



GRA 



God. In the third year of James I. an 
act was passed prohibiting the use of 
the name of God on the stage. As a con- 
sequence, we find that in many passages 
where the word God was originally 
used, the text has been changed. Thus, 
heaven was substituted for God in Hml. 

1, 2, 195, and in the same play, IV, 5, 
198, God ha"* mercy was changed to 
Gramercy, which does not make sense. 
See gramercy. 

god, i;. To idolize. Cor. V, 3, 11. 

God before. With God's help. HV. I, 

2, and III, 6. An old expression found 
in Chaucer. 

God=den. See good-den. 

Godgigoden. God give you a good 
evening. Rom. I, 2, 58. Thus in the 
First Folio. Modern form is God gi 
god-den. 

Godild, I A corruption of God yield, 

God ild. ) i.e.y God requite you. As. Ill, 

3, 76. It occurs without contraction in 
Ant. IV, 2, 33. 

god=kissing. See kissing. 

God's bread. An oath like " God's 
wounds." Probably an allusion to the 
eucharist. Rom. Ill, 5, 177. 

God's sonties. It is not quite settled 
whether this is a corruption of "God's 
saints," or "God's sanctity," or " God's 
sant6," i.e., health. Merch. II, 2, 47. 

Qogs=wouns. A mincing oath corrupted 

, from God's wounds. Shr. Ill, 2, 162. 

golden shaft. See Cupid. 

Goneril, dr. p. Daughter of King Lear. 
Lr. 

QonzsL\o.,dr.p. Councillor of Naples. Tp. 

Good=conceited. WeU-devised; fanciful. 
Cym. II, 8, 18. 

good=deed. In very deed. Wint. I, 2, 
42. 

good=den. Good evening. Rom. II, 4, 
116. 

good=3er. See good years. 

good years. (The form in the First 
Folio.) Supposed to be corrupted from 
the French goujere, i.e., the French 
disease. Lr. V, 3, 24. A form which 
appears elsewhere is good-jer (Wiv. I, 

4, 129), used there apparently as a 



synonym for the j^ox. What the good- 
jer = what the pox, which in Sh. time 
referred always to the small-pox. 

gorbellied. Having a large protruding 
paunch. IHIV. II, 2, 98. 

gorget. A piece of armour to defend the 
throat. Troil. I, 8, 174. 

gospelled. Fixed in Christian faith. Mcb. 
Ill, 1, 88. 

goss. Gorse ; Scotch, whins. Tp. IV, 1, 
180. 

Sh. seems to make a distinction 
between goss and furze, but the best 
authorities regard them as the same. 
It is claimed, however, that goss or 
gorse is often used to denote brushwood 
in general, and not any particular 
plant. 

goujere. See good years. 

gourd. A species of false dice, with an 
internal cavity bored out for the pur- 
pose of giving them a bias. Wiv. I, 3, 
94. ^eefullams. 

gout. A drop. Mcb. II, 1, 46, 

Gower, dr.p. The poet, iutroduced as 
chorus. Per. 

Gower, dr.p. Of the king's party. 2HIV. 

Gower, dr.p. Officer in Henry V's ar- 
my. HV. 

graff. A scion; a shoot. Per. V, 1, 60; 
Lucr. 1062. 

gramercy. Properly, great thanks ; many 
thanks. (French grand inerci.) Often 
wrongly taken for grant mercy, and so 
used by many old writers. In the First 
Folio the last Kne of Ophelia's song 
(Hml. IV, 5, 199) has gramercy; the 
Quarto and most modern eds., God a 
mercy, which is undoubtedly the true 
reading. In many other passages (Shr. 
1, 1, 41 ; Tim. II, 2, 74) the meaning is 
evidently " many thanks." 

grand guard. A piece of defensive ar- 
mour, thus described by Meyrick : "It 
has over the breast for the purpose of 
justing, what was called the grande 
garde, which is screwed on by three 
nuts, and protects the left side, the edge 
of the breast, and the left shoulder." 
Kins. Ill, 6. 

Grandpre, dr.p, A French lord. HV. 



G£A 



1?26 



GTJA 



grate. To irritate. Ant. I, 1, 18; Wiv. 
II, 2, 6. 

Qratiano, dr.p. Brother to Brabantio. 
0th. 

Qratiano, dr.p. Friend to Antonio and 
Bassanio. Merch. 

gratify. To reward. Cor. II, 2, 45. 

gratillity. A word formed by the fool 
in Tw. II, 3, 27. Meaning uncertain, 
but generally supposed to be a corrup- 
tion of gratuity. 

gratulate. To gratify ; to give pleasure 
to ; also to congratulate, but with a 
slight difference of meaning. Tim. I, 
2,131; mil. IV, 1, 10. 

grave. 1. To bury. RIL III, 2, 140 ; Tim. 
IV, 3, 166. 

2. To cut slightly ; to graze. Ven. 376. 

3. To engrave ; to carve. Lucr. 755 ; 
Merch. II, 7, 36. 

gravel=blind. Worse than sand-blind; pur- 
blind. Merch. II, 2, 38. See sand-blind. 

gravel = heart. Usually interpreted as 
stoney-heart. Meas. IV, 3, 68. 

Of this expression White says, in his 
"Riverside" edition, "Incomprehen- 
sible ; but no satisfactory substitute has 
been proposed, unless it be ' grovelling 
beast ' in the Collier Folio, 1632. '' White 
does not adopt this reading in his latest 
(" Riverside ") ed., but in his ed. of 1858 
he incorporated it in his text with these 
remarks: "The folio has 'O gravell 
heart,' which means nothing, although 
many have tried to persuade themselves 
and others to receive it for ' O stoney 
heart. ' The misprint [gravell heart for 
grovelling beast] is an easy one, and 
the sense which it [the new reading] 
gives, most appropriate." 

gravelled. Stuck ; brought to a stop as 
if stuck in sand or gravel. As. IV, 1, 
74. 

greasily. Grossly ; foully. LLL. IV, 1, 
139. 

great morning. Broad daylight. Troil. 
IV, 3, 1. 

great oneyers. These words are hy- 
phenated by Schm., but there is no 
hyphen in Fl., and in most modern eds. 
See oneyers. 



gree. To agree. Meas. IV, 1, 42. 

Greek. Then she''s a merry Greek, in- 
deed. Troil. I, 2, 118. Upon this 
passage Nares comments as follows: 
" The G-reeks were proverbially spoken 
of by the Romans as fond of good living 
and free potations ; and they used the 
terra grcecari^ for to indulge in these 
articles. Hence we also took the name 
of a Greek for a jovial fellow, which 
ignorance has since corrupted into grig ; 
saying ' as merry as a grig, ' instead of 
'as a Greek.'" See "John Brent," 
page 181. 

greenly. Foolishly. Hml. IV, 5, 83. 

Green, dr.p. " Creature " to Richard II. 
RII. 

greet. To weep. Tim. I, 1, 90. So de- 
fined in the Globe glossary and some 
others. But here the meaning seems 
rather to be, to salute. 

Gregory, dr.p. Servant to Capulet. 
Rom. 

Qremio, dr.p. Suitor to Bianca. Shr. 

Grey, Lady, dr.p. Queen to Edward IV. 
3HVI. and RIII. 

Grey, Lord, dr.p. RIII. 

Grey, Sir Thomas, dr.p. A conspirator. 
HV. 

grief=shot. Sorrow-stricken. Cor. V, 
1,45. 

Griffith, dr.p. Gentleman-usher to Queen 
Katherine. HVIII. 

grize. A step ; a degree. Tw. Ill, 1, 135 ; 
Tim. IV, 3, 16. 

groundling. A spectator in the pit of a 
theatre. Hml. Ill, 2, 12. 

grossly. Palpably. HV. II, 2, 107; 'Lr. 

I, 1, 295. 

grow. Among other meanings signifies 
to accrue ; to be due. Err. IV, 1, 18 ; 
do. IV, 4, 124. 

grow to. To have a strong flavour. Merch. 

II, 2, 18. 

Grumio, dr.p. Servant to Petruchio. 

Shr. 
guard. To decorate. Merch. II, 2, 164 ; 

John IV, 2, 10. 
guardage. Guardianship. 0th. I, 2, 70. 
guards. Ornaments; trimmings. Meas. 

III, 1. 97 ; LLL. IV, 3, 58. 



GUA 



127 



GUI 



guards of th' ever=fixed pole. 0th. II, 
1, 15. Several opinions have been ex- 
pressed in regard to the identification 
of these stars. Johnson says: "Allud- 
ing to the star Arctophylax.'''' The 
names Arctophylax and Arcturus 
both mean guards of the hear. Rolfe 
has "no doubt that the guards of the 
pole here are the two stars commonly 
called the Pointers. " A correspondent 
of "Notes and Queries," quoted in H. 
Irving Sh., writes as follows: "The 
guards are the two stars Beta and Gam- 
ma Ursse Minoris, on the shoulder and 
foreleg of the Little Bear, as usually 
depicted, or sometimes on the ear and 
shoulder. They were more observed in 
Shakespeare's time than now for the 
purposes of navigation. Norman's 
'Safeguard of Sailers,' 1587, has a 
chapter, ' Howe to Knowe the houre 
of the night by the Guards.' They 
were even made the subject of mechan- 
ical contrivances for facilitating calcu- 
lation, one of which is described in ' The 
Arte of Navigation ; trans, by Richard 
Eden from the Spanish of Martin Cor- 
tez,' 1561, consisting of fixed and mov- 
able concentric circles with holes, 
through which to observe 'the two 
starres called the Guardians, or the 
mouth of the home.' " 

Guiderius, dr. p. Son to Cymbeline ; as- 
sumed the name of Polydore. Gym. 

guidOHo " A Standard, Ensigne or Ban- 
ner, under which a troupe of men of 
Armes doe serve ; also he that beares it. ' ' 
Cot. Grose tells us that "the guidon, 
according to Markham, is inferior to 
the standard, being the first colour any 
commander of horse can let fly in the 
field." The folios have guard: on. 
This was corrected by Bann, and also 
by Dr. Thackeray, and the correction is 
confirmed by a reference to Holinshed, 
the source of Sh. information. HV. 
IV, 2, 60. 

Quildenstern, dr. p. A courtier. Hml. 

guilder. A Dutch coin worth about forty 
cents. Err. I, 1, 8. 

Guildford, Sir Henry, dr. p. HVIII. 



guiltless blood=shedding. The shedding 
of innocent blood. 2HVI. IV, 7, 108. 

guitnea=heii. A term of contempt for a 
woman; a cant term for a woman of 
bad repute. 0th. I, 3, 317. 

Quiiiover. Variously spelled in the old 
Arthurian romances Guinevere, Guin- 
ever, Geneura, Ganore, etc. LLL. IV, 
1, 125. 

Guineveer or, as she is called by 
Geoffrey of Monmouth, Guanhumara, 
was daughter of Leodograunce of 
Camelyard, and was said to be the most 
beautiful woman in the universe. Her 
stature was noble and elegant, her com- 
plexion fair, and the expression of her 
countenance lively, yet dignified, but 
somietimes tender. Her eyes were said 
by some to be of the finest blue of 
heaven, though she was generally called 
the " grey-eyed." She was the wife of 
King Arthur, but entertained a guilty 
passion for Sir Lancelot of the Lake, 
one of the Knights of the Round Table. 
During the absence of King Arthur in 
his expedition against Leo, King of the 
Romans, she "married" Modred, her 
husband's nephew, whom he had left in 
charge of the kingdom. As soon as 
Arthur heard of this he hastened back. 
Guinever fled from York and took the 
veil in the nunnery of Julius the 
Martyr, and Modred set his forces in 
array at Cambula, in Cornwall. Here 
a desperate battle was fought in which 
Modred was slain, and Arthur mortally 
wounded. Guinever was buried at 
Meigle, in Strathmore, and her name 
has become the synonym of a wanton, 
or adulteress. One of Tennyson's 
"Idyll's of the King" has Guinevere 
for its subject, and is marked by its 
delicacy and its sadness. Lancelot be- 
came a monk, and spent his last years 
saying masses for the souls of his old 
companions in arms. 

gules. Red. Hml. II, 2, 479 ; Tim. IV, 
3, 59. 

A term in heraldry. This word is 
nothing but the plural of the French 
gueule, the mouth, though the reason 



GITL 



1:28 



HAC 



for the name is not very clear, unless 
the reference be, as is probable, to the 
color of the open mouth of the (heraldic) 
lion, Skeat. The term is frequently 
used by the poets, as in The Eve of St. 
Agnes (Keats) : 
Full on this casement shone the 

wintry moon 
And threw warm gules on Madeline's 

fair breast. 

gulf. The throat; the gullet. Mcb. IV, 1, 23. 

gull. A fool; a simpleton. Tw. V, 1, 
351. Literally an unfledged nestling. 

gun=stones. Cannon-balls of stone, used 
in former times as missiles. HV. I, 2, 
282. Even after the introduction of iron 
shot for heavy artillery, the name gun- 
stone was retained in the sense of "bul- 
let." Dyce. 

Qurney, James, dr.p. Servant to Lady 
Paulconbridge. John. 

gust, n. 1. A violent blast of wind. Merch. 
IV, 1, 77. 

2. Taste ; relish. Sonn. CXIV, 11 ; Tw. 
I, 3, 33. 

3. Notion; idea; conception. Tim. Ill, 
5, 54. 



gust, V. To form an idea of ; to perceive. 
Wint. I, 2, 219. 

Guy, Sir. A famous warrior of gigantic 
size. He was the son of Siward, Baron 
of Wallingford, and became Earl of 
Warwick through marriage with Felicia, 
daughter of Rohand, a warrior of the 
time of Alfred. He was nine feet high, 
and is said to have perfornaed many 
wondrous feats. Amongst others he 
overcame the Danish giant, Colbrand, 
at Winchester. See Colbrand. He 
also killed the famous dun cow on 
Dunsmore Heath, a gigantic animal 
whose bones are still to be seen in the 
porter's lodge at Warwick Castle. The 
bones are probably those of some large 
extinct mammal allied to the elephant 
or mastodon. His sword, shield, hel- 
met, breastplate and staff are also kept 
there on exhibition. His "porridge- 
pot," which is capable of containing 
102 gallons, is in the great hall. After 
his battle with Colbrand, Sir G-uy 
retired to a hermitage at G-uy's 
Cliff, where he died in 929. HVIII. 
V, 4, 22. 




J^ For the letter that begins 
them all, H. Ado. Ill, 4, 56. 
"Margaret asks Beatrice for 
what she cries heigh-ho ; Bea- 
trice answers for an H, that is, for an 
ache or pain.'''' Johnson. The word 
ache was formerly pronounced like the 
letter H. 
habit. You know me by my habit. HV. 
Ill, 6, 121. "That is, by his herald's 
coat. The person of a herald being in- 
violable, was distinguished in those 
times of formality by a peculiar dress, 
which is likewise yet worn on particu- 
lar occasions. " Johnson. 
habitude. Condition of body. Compl. 114. 
hack. The passage (Wiv. II, 1, 52), these 
knights ivill hack, is very obscure. 



" About the meaning of it, sundry con- 
jectures have been offered, the most 
probable one, perhaps, being that there 
is an allusion to the extravagant num- 
ber of knights created by King James, 
and that hack is equivalent to ' become 
cheap or vulgar.'" Dyce. But this 
play was written for Queen Elizabeth, 
and, moreover, it is not likely that Sh. 
would have ventured to ridicule the 
the acts of James. But the interpreta- 
tion is quite plausible so far as the word 
is concerned. Johnson would read : 
These knights we''ll /lacfc, meaning, "it 
is not worth the while of a gentlewoman 
to be made a knight, for we'll degrade 
all these knights in a little time by the 
usual form of hacking off their spurs." 



HAG 



129 



HAK 



Other interpretations have been given, 

but these are the most plausible. 
haggard, n. An untrained hawk. Tw. 

Ill, 1, 71. 
haggard, adj. Wild ; unprincipled. 0th. 

Ill, 3, 260. 
hag=seed. The offspring of a hag. Tp. 

I, 3, 365. 
hai, ) A home-thrust in fencing. Rom, 
hay. S II, 4, 27. 
hair. 1. Against the hair = against the 

grain. Wiv. II, 3, 41. A similar idea 

is found in the expression, " rub the fur 

the wrong way. ' ' 

2. Peculiar nature. IHIV. IV, 1, 61. 

3. The appearance of the bride in dis- 
hevelled hair, apparently a classic cus- 
tom, betokened virginity, and was in 
use up to Jacobian times, at least 
(about 1625). Speaking of the marriage 
of the Countess of Essex to Somerset, 
Wilson, in his "Life of James I.," 
says : " She, thinking all the world ig- 
norant of her slie practices, hath the 
impudence to appear in the habit of a 
Virgin, with her hair pendent almost 
to her feet; which Ornament of her 
body (though a fair one) could not cover 
the deformities of her soul." Kins. I, 1. 
(Stage direction.) 

halberd. A kind of battle-axe fixed to a 
long pole. 3HVI. IV, 3, 20. 

halcyon. A kingfisher. It is a vulgar 
opinion that the dead body of this 
bird if hung up will always turn its 
breast to the wind, and by that means 
show from what point it blows. Miss 
Charlotte Smith, in her "Natural His- 
tory of Birds," tells us that she found 
this superstition prevalent amongst 
English cottagers. Lr. II, 2, 84. It was 
also a superstition that the bird built 
its nest on the surface of the water and 
had the power of calming the waves of 
the ocean so that no storms ai'ose during 
its breeding season. Hence the calm 
days of this period were called halcyon 
days. IHVI. I, 2, 131. 

half=caps. Caps half taken off; slight 
salutions. Tim. II, 2, 221. 

balf°checked bit. One which is muti- 



lated ; of which only one part remained. 
According to Clarke it means "a bit 
that but half does its duty of checking 
the horse." Shr. Ill, 2, 58. 

half=kirtles. See kirtles. 

Half=nioon. See tavern. 

half=pence. She tore the letter into a 
thousand half-pence (Ado. II, 3, 147) 
= into a thousand little pieces. As 
Douce remarks, the half -pence of Eliza- 
beth were of silver and very small. 

half =sword, at. Within half the length of 
of a sword ; at close fight. IHIV. II, 
4, 182. 

halidom, ) Sanctity; salvation. Gene- 

halidome. j rally used as a mild oath. 
Gent. IV, 2, 136. See holydame. 

hall. 1. A large room. LLL. V, 2, 924. 

2. A manor house. Shr. II, 1, 189 ; 
Troil. Ill, 3, 134. 

3. An exclamation, formerly common, 
to make a clear space in a crowd. Dyce. 
Especially space for dancing. Rom. I, 
5,28. 

Hallowmas. The feast of All Saints (1st 
of November). Meas. II, 1, 128 ; Gent. 
II, 1, 27. "On AU Saints' Day poor 
people went from parish to parish 
begging in a certain lamentable tone 
for a kind of cakes." The cakes were 
called soul cakes, and the beggars pro- 
mised to pray for the souls of the givers' 
departed friends. Nares. 

Hamlet, dr. p. Hml. 

This is the longest of Sh. plays. The 
accepted text contains 3,928 lines. The 
next longest is RIII. with 3,506 lines. 
See fat. 

handfast. Betrothal. Cym. I, 5, 78. 

hand, n. See hones ; also pickers. 

hand, v. To handle. Tp. I, 1, 25. 

handsaw. See hawk. 

handy=dandy. Sleight of hand ; changing 
quickly from one hand to another so as 
to deceive the spectator. Lr. IV, 6, 157. 

Hannibal. A famous Carthaginian gene- 
ral, born B.C. 247. He was only nine 
years old when his father, Hamilcar, 
took him with him to Spain, and it was 
upon this occasion that he was made to 
swear upon the altar eternal hostility 



HAN 



ISO 



HAE 



to Rome. After the assassination of 
Hasdrubal, the soldiers unanimously 
proclaimed him commander-in-chief, 
and this the government at Carthage 
at once ratified. Hannibal was then in 
his twenty-sixth year. After establish- 
ing the Carthaginian power in Spain, 
he invaded Italy, defeated the Romans 
in several pitched battles, inflicting the 
most disastrous losses on them, though 
with terrible losses on his own part. 
After several years war, the Romans 
sent Scipio into Africa to attack the 
enemy. Hannibal returned home to 
oppose him, but was utterly defeated 
at the battle of Zama, After various 
vicissitudes, he found refuge at the 
court of the Bithynian king, but on 
the Romans threatening that monarch 
with war if the refugee were not 
delivered up, Hannibal took poison and 
ended his life about the year B.C. 183, 

The allusion to him in IHVI. I, 521, 
refers to his stratagem to escape by 
fixing bundles of lighted twigs on the 
horns of oxen and driving them towards 
the enemy's camp. 

Elbow, the constable, confounds his 
name with cannibal in Meas. II, 1, 183, 
and Pistol makes a mistake exactly the 
reverse in 2HIV. II, 4, 180. 

hanged, because they could not read, 
thou hast hanged them. 2HVI. IV, 7, 
49. ' ' That is, they were hanged because 
they could not claim the benefit of 
clergy. " Johnson. 

hangman boys. Young rascals. Gent. 
IV, 4, 61. 

hap. Chance; fortune. Err. I, 1, 39; 
Ado. Ill, 1, 105 ; Hml. IV, 3, 70. 

happy, V. To make happy. Which hap- 
pies those that pay. Sonn. VI, 6. 

happily. Haply ; perchance. The soul 
of your granddam might happily in- 
habit a bird (Tw. IV, 2, 57) = might 
perchance inhabit a bird. So in various 
other passages. 

Harcourt, dr.p. A Lancastrian. 2HIV. 

hardiment. Bold exploit ; daring. IHIV. 
I, 3, 101. 

hare=finder. The passage in Ado. I, 1, 



185, Do you play the flouting Jack to 
tell us Cupid is a good hare-finder 
and Vulcan a rare carpenter f has 
caused some discussion. 

R, Gr. White explains it thus : "Do 
you mean to tell us that the blind boy 
has the eyes of a greyhound, and that 
Vulcan's forge and anvil are used to 
work wood ? " But the greyhound was 
not the hare -finder, but the hare- 
catcher, and nothing is said about 
Vulcan's forge and anvil. Of course, 
the general drift is : Are you in earnest 
(sad) or are you trying to fool us ? To 
say that Cupid, who is said to be blind, 
a few lines further on (256) is good at that 
which requires the keenest sight, is to 
state an absurdity ; but why Vulcan, who 
was a good mechanic, although a worker 
in iron, should not be skilful with car- 
penters' tools is not quite so apparent. 
But although not quite so forcible as an 
illustration, as the blind god, he fur- 
nishes an example good enough for the 
purpose, X)iz., that of applying talents 
to wrong purposes, against which Lyly 
in his Euphues gives a strong caution, 
telling us that "It is vnseemly for the 
Painter to feather a shafte, or the 
Fletcher to handle the pencill. " 

The hare-finder was a well-known 
functionary in the coursing of hares. 
The greyhounds were taken to the field 
in a leash ; the hare-finder found and 
started the hare and the dogs were 
slipped. To find a hare on her form 
requires experience and very sharp 
eyes, so that the absurdity of suggesting 
blind Cupid for a hare-finder is obvious. 
Ulrici suggests that Vulcan, if a car- 
penter, would supply Cupid with his 
shafts, apparently forgetting that 
arrows were not made by carpenters 
but by fletchers, and Schmidt suggests 
that the proper reading may be hair- 
finder, and refers to the German Haar- 
finden, meaning one who easily finds 
fault. He also suggests an indecent 
quibble. All of which is entii'ely out 
of place in this connection. 
harlock. Charlock or wild mustard. Lir. 



HAB 



131 



HAW 



IV, 4, 4. Many eds. give burdock. The 
Quartos have "hor-docks" and the Fo- 
lios "hardokes" or "hardocks." The 
burdock is a common weed in En- 
gland, but is not usually found " in our 
sustaining corn, " while charlock or har- 
lock is a well-known pest in the farm- 
er's grain fields. See corn. 

harlot, adj. Base, Wint. II, 3, 4. 

harpies, that is, the Robbers or Spoilers, 
are in Homer nothing but personified 
storm-winds who were said to carry off 
any one who suddenly disappeared from 
the earth, but later writers represent 
them as most disgusting monsters, being 
birds with the heads of maidens, long 
claws, and faces pale with hunger. 
They were sent by the gods to torment 
Phineus, a blind soothsayer, who had 
cruelly treated his sons, putting out 
their eyes, and otherwise maltreating 
them. Whenever a meal was placed 
before him the harpies descended and 
either devoured the food themselves or 
rendered it unfit to be eaten. It is pro- 
bably from this story that Sh. took the 
idea of Ariel's appearing at the banquet 
(Tp. Ill, 3) and carrying off the food. 
Other references are Ado. II, 1, 279 and 
Per. IV, 3, 46. 

harry. To vex ; to tease ; to harass. 
Ant. Ill, 3, 43. 

Hastings, Lord, dr. p. A Yorkist. 3HIV., 
3HVI, and RIII. 

hatch. The lower half of a door cut in 
two horizontally. It was common in 
houses of the lower class to have the 
door thus cut so that pigs, poultry, etc. , 
might be kept out and small children 
kept in, while at the same time light 
and air were allowed to enter. In at 
the window or else o''er the hatch = 
entering unlawfully, and hence a pro- 
verbial phrase for illegitimacy. John 
I, 1, 171. Dogs leap the hatch means 
that they are so terrified that they try 
to escape by forbidden ways. Lr. Ill, 
6, 76. Make you take the hatch =so 
terrify you that you will not wait to 
open the door but will leap over the 
hatch. John V, 3, 138. 



hatched. Engraved. Troil. I, 3, 65. 
Hatched in silver has been interpreted 
to mean with grey or silver hairs such 
as Nestor was known to have, and 
Steevens quotes a passage from Love in 
a Maze, " thy chin is hatched in silver," 
to sustain this view. But Johnson 
makes this comment : " Ulysses begins 
his oration with praising those who 
had spoken before him, and marks 
the characteristick excellencies of 
their different eloquence, strength 
and sweetness, which he expresses by 
the diffi'erent metals on which he re- 
commends them to be engraven for 
the instruction of posterity. The 
speech of Agamemnon is such that it 
ought to be engraven in brass, and the 
tablet held up by him on the one side 
and Greece on the other, to shew the 
union of their opinion. And Nestor 
ought to be exhibited in silver, uniting 
all his audience in one mind by his soft 
and gentle elocution. Brass is the com- 
mon emblem of strength, and silver of 
gentleness. We call a soft voice a 
silver voice, and a persuasive tongue a 
silver tongue. ' ' And certainly it would 
seem that if "brass" did not refer to 
the personality of Agamemnon, the 
"silver" cannot properly refer to the 
personality of Nestor, so that the argu- 
ments in favor of Johnson's view are 
very strong. 

haught. Haughty. 3HVI. II, 1, 169; 
RII. IV, 1, 254. 

haunch. The latter end. 2HIV. IV, 4, 93. 

haunt. Company ; the coming in contact 
with people in general. Hml. IV, 1, 
18 ; Ant. IV, 14, 54. 

haver. Possessor. Cor. II, 3, 89. 

having. Possession ; property ; estate. 
Wiv. Ill, 3, 73 ; Cym. I, 3, 19 ; 0th. IV, 
3, 93. 

Probably signifies allowance or pin- 
money in the latter passage. 

havoc. To cry " havoc " signifies to give 
no quarter. Caea. HI, 1, 373 ; Hml. V, 
3, 378. 

hawlc. I know a hawk from a handsaw. 
Hml. II, 3, 397. Over this expression 



HEA 



1S2 



REG 



of Hamlet's much Christian ink has 
been shed in the effort to make sense 
out of that which probably never was 
intended to bear strict examination. 
According to Nares, the proverb, in the 
form used by Hamlet, is older than Sh. 
And then, consider the ridiculous com- 
parisons that creep into proverbs of 
this kind, such as "don't know him 
from a side of sole leather;" "don't 
know a B from a bull's foot ; " "smil- 
ing as a basket of chips," etc., etc. 
The most important emendation is that 
of hernsew for handsaw, hernsew be- 
ing another name for a heron, and the 
meaning then being that he knew the 
hawk from its prey. The word hawk 
has been explained by White as a car- 
penter's tool, and that there is such a 
tool is certain, but what a carpenter's 
hawk and handsaw have to do with the 
direction of the wind is another matter. 
Furness is inclined to accept the hern- 
sew emendation, and it certainly is the 
best, if any such explanation is desired; 
but on the whole, I cannot help think- 
ing that Hamlet used a proverb then 
in common use, but without specific 
meaning, merely a sort of jingle like 
many others. 

head^borough. The office of borough 
was similar to that of a constable ; the 
head-borough was the chief constable. 
Shr. Ind. 1, 12. 

head^lugged. Dragged by the head, and 
consequently made savage. Lr. IV, 

2, 42,. 

hearted. Roflted in the heart. 0th. I, 

3, 373. 

heartlings. ''ocfs heartlings, Wiv. Ill, 

4, 59, an exclamation similar to 'od's 
bodikins. See ^od^s. 

heat, n. A course, as in a horse race. 
Seven years'' heat (Tw. I, 1, 26) has 
been interpreted as seven courses of the 
sun, and also as the heats of seven 
summers. The Fl. has heate, modern- 
ized to heat in most eds. Some eds., 
however, read hence. 

heat, V. To run a course or heat ; hence 
to run over. Wint. I, 2, 96. 



heaves. Deep sighs. Yfint. II, 3, 35 ; 

Hml. IV, 1, 1. 
hebenon. A word of doubtful meaning ; 
probably henbane, but identity uncer- 
tain. Hml. I, 5, 62. 

The yew, ebony and hemlock have aU 
been suggested. The Quartos have he- 
bona ; hebenon in Fl. Henbane or 
hyoscyamus nigra, sometimes called 
stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant, 
especially destructive to domestic fowls ; 
whence the name. ' It does not, indeed, 
produce any leprous symptoms ; but in 
Sh. time the doctrine of signatures was 
a matter of very general belief, and the 
idea of its leprous effects may have 
been founded on the clammy appear- 
ance of the plant. 

Elton, in his "Origins of English 
History," speaks of "the henbane or 
insane root, which the Gauls used for 
their poisoned arrows. ' ' 

Strong claims have been advanced 
for " the double-fatal yew." It is said 
by Dodoeus to be " altogether venem- 
ous and against man's nature. Such as 
do but only slepe under the shadow 
thereof become sicke, and sometimes 
they die." Grindon's "Shakespeare 
Flora," p. 46. 
Hecate, dr.p. A witch, or rather the 
goddess or mistress of witches. Mcb. 

This mysterious divinity is described 
as a mighty and formidable deity, iden- 
tified with Selene or Luna in heaven, 
with Diana on earth, and Proserpine in 
the lower world. Being thus, as it were, 
a three-fold goddess, she is described 
with three bodies or three heads, the 
first of a horse, the second of a dog, 
and the third of a lion. From her be- 
ing an infernal divinity, she came to be 
regarded as a spectral being, who sent 
at night all kinds of demons and terri- 
ble phantoms from the lower world, 
who taught sorcery and witchcraft, 
and dwelt at places where two roads 
crossed, on tombs and near the blood 
of murdered persons. She herself wan- 
dered about with the souls of the dead, 
and her approach was announced by 



HEC 



133 



HEL 



the whining and howling of dogs. 
Hence regarded as the guide and ruler 
of witches. Reginald Scott, in his 
" Disco verie of Witchcraft," tells us 
that "Certeine generall councels, by 
their decrees, have condemned the con- 
fusions and erronious credulitie of 
witches, to be vaine, fantasticall and 
fabulous * * * to wit ; their night- 
walkings and meetings with Herodias 
and the Pagan gods : etc. * * * 
The words of the councell are these ; 
It may not be omitted that certeine 
wicked women following Sathans pro- 
vocations, being seduced by the illusion 
of divels, beleeve and professe that in 
the night times they ride abroad with 
Diana, the goddesse of the Pagans, or 
else with Herodias, with an innumer- 
able multitude, upon certeine beasts, 
and passe over manie countries and 
nations, in the silence of the night, and 
doo whatsoever those fairies or ladies 
command." See Acheron and witch. 

hectic. A fever. Hml. IV, 3, 68. 

Hector, dr.p. Son of Priam. Troil. 
Hector was the chief hero amongst 
the Trojans in their defence of Troy 
against the Greeks. He was the son of 
Priam and Hecuba, and the husband of 
Andromache. He fought with the brav- 
est of the Greeks. After Paris had fled 
from Menelaus, Hector challenged the 
latter, who only saved himself by flight. 
He fought with A jax, and slew Patro- 
clus, taking off the armor of the Greek 
and putting it on himself. Achilles, en- 
raged at the death of his friend, attacked 
Hector and slew him. Dr. Schmitz, in 
his article on Hector in Smith's Diction- 
ary, says : "Hector is one of the noblest 
conceptions of the poet of the Illiad. 
He is the great bulwark of Troy, and 
even Achilles trembles when he ap- 
proaches him. He has a presentiment 
of the fall of his country, but he per- 
severes in his heroic resistance, pre- 
ferring death to slavery and disgrace. 
But besides these virtues of a warrior, 
he is distinguished also, and, perhaps, 
more so than Achilles, by those of a 



man ; his heart is open to the gentle 
feelings of a son, a husband and a 
father." 

Hecuba. Hecuba was the wife of Priam, 
King of Troy, and the mother of Hector, 
Paris, and other children. When Troy 
fell, she and her daughters, Cassandra 
and Polyxena, were carried off as 
prisoners by the Greeks. Hecuba had 
hoped to meet in Thrace her son, Poly- 
dorus, whom Priam had sent as a child, 
with much treasure, to Polymestor, the 
Thracian King, to be kept until the 
war was over. The ghost of Polydorus 
appeared to Hecuba and told her that 
he had been murdered by Polymestor 
for the treasure, whereupon Hecuba 
tore out the eyes of Polymestor and 
slew his children. The Thracians 
attempted to kill her, but the gods 
changed her into a dog. Ultimately 
she committed suicide by leaping into 
the sea at a place named from this cir- 
cumstance Cynossema, or the dog's 
grave, 

hedge. To skulk. Wiv. II, 2, 27 ; TroH. 
Ill, 1, 66. This word has again come 
into use in this sense amongst politicians 
and other gainblers. 

hedge=born. Born outside of a home ; of 
mean birth. IHVI. IV, 1, 43. 

hedge=priest. A priest who performs 
the offices of the church in the shelter 
of a hedge, having no church. A priest 
of the lowest order. LLL. V, 2, 545. 

heel, V. To dance. Troil. IV, 4, 88. 

hefts. Heavings. Wint. II, 1, 44. 

Helecanus, dr.p. A lord of Tyre. Per. 

Helen, dr.p. Wife of Menelaus. Troil. 

Helen, dr.p. A lady attending on Imo- 
gen. Cym. 

Helena, dr.p. A gentlewoman protected 
by the Countess of Rousillon. All's. 

Helena, dr.p. In love with Demetrius. 
Mids. 

Helenus, dr.p. Son of Priam. Troil. 

Helicons. As used by Pistol (2HIV. V, 
3, 108), this word probably carried mere 
sound without meaning. Nevertheless 
it may be well to explain what it would 
have meant if Pistol had understood it. 



HEL 



134 



HEB 



Helicon is a celebrated range of mount- 
ains in Boeotia, and was sacred to Apol- 
lo and the Muses. Here sprung the cele- 
brated fountains of the Muses, Agan- 
ippe and Hippocrene. At the fountain 
of Hippocrene was a grove sacred to the 
Muses, which was adorned with some 
of the finest works of art. On the 
slopes and in the valleys of the mount- 
ains grew many medicinal plants, 
which may have given occasion to 
the worship of Apollo as the healing 
god. 

hell. One that, before judgment, carries 
poor souls to hell. Err. IV, 2, 40. 
That is, one that, on mesne process, 
carries poor souls to prison — hell being 
a cant term for the worst dungeon in 
the prisons of our poet's time. Dyce. 

helm. To steer ; to manage ; to guide. 
Meas. Ill, 2, 151. 

helpless. 1. Incurable. Lucr. 756. 
2. Incapable of giving help. RIII. I, 
2, 13. 

help. See caudle and hempen. 

hemlock. A poisonous herb, Conium 
maculatum, well known in Europe, 
often the cause of fatal accidents, and 
whose name is associated with the 
darkest deeds from the fact that it is 
supposed to have been the poison ad- 
ministered to Socrates. In an American 
Glossary it is proper to note this lest 
the name hemlock should convey to the 
reader the idea of the hemlock tree, a 
kind of spruce {Tsuga Canadensis), 
which supplies im.mense quantities of 
cheap lumber, and whose bark is used 
in tanning. It has no poisonous or 
noxious properties whatever, and would 
convey no suggestion of evil if it were 
the plant named in the incantations of 
the witches in Macbeth. HV. V, 2, 45 ; 
Mcb. IV, 1, 25 ; Lr. IV, 4, 4. 

hempen. Made of hemp; the material 
of which ropes are made. Hempen cau- 
dle = a hangman's halter, which is 
supposed to be a cordial for all dis- 
eases. See caudle. 

hemo-seed. Mrs. Quickly's word for 
homicide. 2HIV. II, 1, 64. 



henchman. A page or attendant. Mids. 

II, 1, 121. 

Henry, dr.p. Earl of Richmond. 3HVI. 

and RIII. 
Henry Bolingbroke, dr.p. Afterwards 

Henry IV. RII., IHIV. and 2HIV. 
Henry Percy, dr.p. Son of Earl of 

Northumberland. RII. 
Henry Percy (Hotspur), dr.p. Son of 

Earl of Northumberland. IHIV. and 

2HIV. 
Henry, Prince, dr.p. Son of King John, 

John. 
Henry, Prince of "Wales, dr.p. Son of 

Henry IV., and afterwards Henry V. 

IHIV., 2HIV. and HV. 
Henry IV., dr.p. RII., IHIV. and 2HIV. 
Henry V., dr.p. IHIV., 2HIV. and HV. 
Henry VI., dr.p. IHVI., 2HVI. and 

3HVI. 
Henry VIIL, dr.p. HVIII. 
hent, V. To take, in the sense of the 

horseman's "taking" a fence; to cross; 

to pass beyond. Wint. IV, 3, 133; 

Meas. IV, 6, 14. 
hent, n. Opportunity; taking. Hml. 

III, 2, 88. 

herblets. Small herbs. Gym. IV, 2, 287. 

herb of grace. Rue. RII. Ill, 4, 105. 

Herbert, Sir Walter, dr.p. RIII. 

Hercules and his load, too. This allu- 
sion may be to the Globe playhouse on 
the Bankside, the sign of which was 
Hercules carrying the Globe. Steevens. 
Malone says : " I suppose Shakespeare 
meant that the boys drew greater 
audiences than the elder players of the 
Globe Theatre." Hml. II, 2, 378. 

Hermes. See Mercury. 

Hermia, dr.p. Daughter to Egeus. Mids. 

Hermione, dr.p. Queen of Sicilia. Wint. 

hermit. A beadsman, q.v. Mcb. I, 6, 20. 

Heme's Oak. The legend of Heme the 
hunter would seem to have been 
anciently current at Windsor and in 
times gone by a certain oak was identi- 
fied as that immortalized by Sh. HaUi- 
well says that ' ' the general opinion is 
that it was accidentally destroyed in 
1796, through an order of George III. 
to the bailiff, Robinson, that all the 



I 



HER 



135 



HOB 



unsightly trees in the vicinity of the 
castle should be removed ; an opinion 
confirmed by a well-established fact 
that a person named Grantham, who 
contracted with the bailiff for the re- 
moval of the trees, fell into disgrace 
with the king for having included the 
oak in his gatherings." In regard to 
the present condition of the site, the 
following from ' ' The Windsor G-uide ' ' 
is interesting: "Heme's Oak, so long 
an object of much curiosity and en- 
thusiasm, is now no more. The old 
tree was blown down, August 31st, 
1863 ; and a young oak was planted by 
her Majesty, September 12th, 1863, to 
mark the spot where Heme's Oak 
stood." 

Hero, dr. p. Daughter to Leonato. Ado. 

hest. Command. Tp. I, 2, 274. 

hewgh. A word imitative of the sound 
of an arrow as it whistles through the 
air. Lr. IV, 6, 93. 

hide=fox, and all after. The game of 
hide and seek. Hml. IV, 2, 32. 

high. Fully ; quite. 0th. IV, 2, 249. In 
use in this sense at the present time in 
"high noon." 

high and low. Kinds of false dice. Wiv. 
I, 3, 93. 

high=battled. At the head of a victori- 
ous army. Ant. Ill, 11, 29. 

high=day. Holiday. Merch. II, 9, 98. 

high=fantastical. In many eds. high 
fantastical. Tw. I, 1, 15. Highly 
imaginative. The meaning of the 
-passage is that love (fancy) alone is 
capable of forming the highest and 
noblest conception of things. 

high=lone. Standing alone on her feet ; 
a nursery expression. Rom. I, 3, 36. 

hight. Called ; named. LLL. I, 1, 171 ; 
Mids. V, 1, 140. 

high=viced. Conspicuously wicked. Tim. 
IV, 3, 110. 

hild. Held (used for the sake of the 
rhyme). Lucr. 1257. 

hilding. Base; menial. (From the Saxon 
healdan; one who is held or kept.) 
2HIV. I, 1, 57. 

hip. 1. The upper part of the thigh ; in 



deer, the haunch. To have on the 
hip has received two interpretations. 
Johnson, in his notes to Shake- 
speare, says that it is taken from 
the art of wrestling, and this is prob- 
ably the view of most modern readers, 
since it is well known that when 
a wrestler can throw his adversary 
across his (the wrestler's) hip he can 
give him the severest of all falls, tech- 
nically termed a cross-buttock. It was 
to this, doubtless, that the countryman 
alluded when he exclaimed (Kins. II, 3) : 
My mind misgives me, 
This fellow has a vengeance trick o' 
the hip. 

The other interpretation refers to the 
action of the hound in hunting deer. 
When the hound has caught the deer 
by the hip he may feed himself fat on 
his flesh. This seems to accord with 
Merch. I, 3, 47. Halliwell, in Nares' 
Glossary, applies this to 0th. II, 1, 314. 
Johnson, in his Dictionary, adopts the 
hunting explanation. Furness, how- 
ever, brings forward fresh proof in 
favor of the wrestling origin of the 
expression, which is no doubt the true 
one. 
2. The fruit of the briar or dog-rose, 
Rosa canina. Tim. IV, 3, 422. 

Hippolyta, dr. p. Queen of the Amazons ; 
betrothed to Theseus. Mids. and Kins. 
For details see Theseus. 

hive. A kind of bonnet. Lov. Compl. 8. 

hoar. To become mouldy or rotten. Tim. 
IV, 3, 155. 

hobby=horse. 1 . A principal part in the 
morris-dance. Hml. Ill, 2, 144. 
2. A light woman. Ado. Ill, 2, 75; 
0th. IV, 1, 158. 

hob^nail. A short nail with a large coni- 
cal or pyramidal head — not flat. The 
nail with a broad, flat head is a clout 
nail. IHIV. II, 4, 398 ; 2HVI. IV, 10, 
63. Hobnails were used by shoemakers 
who drove them thickly into the soles 
of shoes for the purpose of protecting 
the leather from wear. Distinct from 
clout nails, but often confounded with 
them. See clouted. 



HOI 



136 



HOO 



In Sh. time nails were sold by count. 
IHIV. II, 4, 398, and see also ante 
under clout, where a bill will be found 
for "C. [one hundred] cloute neyle." 
From this we may infer that a nail 
which sold for sixpence per hundred 
was a sixpenny nail. Hence our terms 
sixpenny, tenpenny, etc., as applied to 
nails. All our large dictionaries make 
the mistake of supposing that penny is 
here a corruption of the word pound. 
See "Shakespearean Notes and New 
Readings " for a discussion of this 
question. 

The hob-nail was not the nail used 
for shoeing horses as stated by Schm. 
hoise. To hoist up ; to overthrow. 2H VI, 

I, 1, 169. 

hold. See bow-strings. 

holding. 1. The burden of a song. Ant. 

II, 7, 118. 

2. Sense ; congruity. All's. IV, 2, 27. 

holidame, ) The same as halidom, q.v. 

holydame. j" Shr. V, 2, 99. The original 
word was halidom, which signifies 
simply holiness, the aflBx dam being the 
same as that in kingdom and other 
words. The corruption arose from 
supposing that the word meant holy 
dame i.e., the Virgin Mary. 

Holofernes, dr. p. A schoolmaster. LLL. 
It is frequently asserted that Holo- 
fernes is a caricature of the Italian 
teacher John Florio, who translated 
Montaigne's Essays, and is the author 
of a weU-known Italian-English Dic- 
tionary. Florio had criticised the En- 
glish dramas as being "neither right 
comedies nor right tragedies, but per- 
verted histories without decorum." 
But, as Marshall has pointed out, it 
may be doubted whether Sh. would 
have ridiculed one who was so especial 
a protege of the Earl of Southampton 
as Florio was. It is more probable 
that under cover of a character found, 
as the Pedant, in many old Italian 
comedies, Sh. intended to satirize the 
silly display of Latinity which Lilly 
was so fond of making in his plays. 

hQly=ales. Rural festivals. Per. I, Prol. 6. 



hoIy=cruel. Cruel by being too virtuous. 
All's. IV. 2, 32. 

homager. A vassal. Ant, I, 1, 31. 

honest. Chaste. As. I, 2, 40. 

honey=heavy. Very sweet. Caes. II, 1, 
280. 

honey=seed. A Quicklyism for homicide. 
2HIV, II, 1, 57, 

honey=stalks. Clover. Tit. IV, 4, 90. 

honey=suckle. Mrs. Quickly's blunder 
for homicidal. 2HIV. II, 1, 56. 

honorificabilitudinitatibus. Dr. Johnson 
says that "the word, whencesoever it 
comes, is often mentioned as the longest 
word known. ' ' There are longer words 
in Elliott's Indian Bible. Hunter, in 
his "New Illustrations," Vol. I, p. 264, 
after denying that it is a word, says : 
" This is a mere arbitrary and unmean- 
ing combination of syllables, devised 
merely to serve as an exercise in pen- 
manship, a schoolmaster's copy for 
persons learning to write. It is of some 
antiquity. I have seen it on an Ex- 
chequer record, apparently in a hand 
of the reign of Henry the Sixth ; and it 
may be seen, with some additional 
syllables, scribbled on one of the leaves 
of a manuscriDt in the Harleian Library, 
No. 6113. It is even still in use. " LLL. 
V, 1, 44. 

Hood, Robin. A famous outlaw whose 
exploits form the subject of numerous 
stirring ballads. According to some 
legends he was the outlawed Earl of 
Huntingdon, but in some of the ballads 
it is positively asserted that he was a 
yeoman. He was said to have been 
born at Locksley, in Nottinghamshire, 
about the year 1100, and from this cir- 
cumstance Scott gave him the name of 
Locksley in " Ivanhoe." One of the old 
historians tells us that he entertained 
a hundred tall men, all good archers, 
with such spoils and thefts as he got 
from the rich. He suffered no woman 
to be oppressed, violated, or otherwise 
molested. Poor men's goods he spared, 
abundantly relieving them with that 
which he got from abbeys and the 
houses of rich carles. After living for 



HOO 



137 



HOR 



many years in Sherwood Forest and 
Barnesdale, in Yorkshire, he at length 
fell a victim to the treachery of a nun 
to whom he had applied for blood-let- 
ting, and who bled him to death. He 
is referred to several times in 
Sh. Gent. IV, 1, 36; As. I, 1, 
132 ; 2HIV. V, 3, 107. 
hoodman. The person blinded in 
the game of blind man's buff. 
All's. IV, 3, 137. 
hoodman=bUnd. Now caUed blind 

man's buff. Hml. Ill, 4, 77. 
hoop. Whoop. Out of all hoop- 
ing, As. Ill, 2, 203, = beyond all 
shouts of admiration, 
hope. To expect; to suppose. 
Often used to express expectation 
without the desire which it indi- 
cates at present. HV. Ill, 7, 
77; Ant. II, 1,38. 
Horatio, dr. p. Friend to Hamlet. 

Hml. 
horn=book. A primer. LLL. V, 
1, 49. Hornbooks were so called 
because the paper or parchment 
on which the alphabet, etc., were 
printed or written, was covered 
with a thin transparent sheet of 
horn, so as to protect it from the 
dirty hands of the scholars. The 
paper and horn were usually 
tacked to a board which had a 
handle at its lower end as shown 
in the accompanying cut. 
horned. Furnished with horns; 

cuckolded. 0th. IV, 1, 63. 
Horner, Thomas, dr.p. An arm- 
ourer. 3HVI. 
horn=niad. The usual signification 
attached to this word is mad or 
angry at having been made a 
cuckold, and that this is the 
meaning in Wiv. Ill, 5, 155 is 
evident. But how this could be 
the meaning in Wiv. I, 4, 52 
is not so clear. Gains was not married 
nor even engaged, so that the idea 
of cuckoldom or even jealousy could 
not enter into the case except on 
a very far-fetched supposition. Again, 



in Err. II, 1, 57, Dromio repudi- 
ates the cuckold theory. When he 
tells Adriana that her husband is 
horn-mad, she seems at once to seize 
the idea of cuckold mad, and then 




A HORNBOOK. 

Dromio says : I mean not cuckold-mad, 
hut, sure, he is stark mad. 

How the expression originated is not 
clear, Wright thinks that horn is a 
corruption of the Scotch hams or 



Hon 



138 



HOE 



brains, so that the word would literally 
he brain-mad; but the connections in 
which it occurs render this improbable. 
It is well known to stock-raisers that 
there is a disease called horn-ail from 
which cattle sometimes suffer intensely 
and, like all animals suffering acute 
pain, become irritable and angry. To 
couple the idea of a bull, mad with the 
pain of horn-ail, and a man mad with 
the sense of wearing a cuckold's horns 
does not require a great stretch of 
imagination. 

The word occurs four times in Sh. 
In two of these it undoubtedly implies 
cuckoldom ; from the other two the 
idea seems to be excluded. In addition 
to the passages named it is found in 
Ado. I, 1, 273. 

horn=maker. A maker of cuckolds. As. 
IV, 1, 63. 

hornpipe. A country dance of a lively 
and hilarious character. The name is 
also applied to the music appropriate to 
such dances. Wint. IV, 3, 46. 

" An allusion to a practice, common 
at this time amongst the Puritans, of 
burlesquing the plein chant of the Pa- 
pists, by adapting vulgar and ludicrous 
music to psalms and pious composi- 
tions." Douce. 

horologe. A clock. HeHl watch the ho- 
rologe a double set = stay awake for 
twenty-four hours. 0th. II, 3, 135. 

horse. 1. Iama2)eppercornorbrewer'''s 
horse. IHIV. Ill, 3, 9. This compari- 
son of Falstaff's has "bothered" the 
commentators. Boswell suggested that 
the key to it was to be found in a 
conundrum in The DeviVs Cabinet 
Opened : What is the difference be- 
tween a drunkard and brewer's horse ? 
the answer to which is, that the one 
carries all his liquor on his back and 
the other in his belly. But as regards 
Falstaff's saying, this is unsatisfactory. 
May it not be that Falstaff compares 
himself to the inferior animals used by 
small brewers for grinding their malt ? 
Such horses travelled in a circular path, 
dragging the arms of the mill, and were 



frequently blind. Malt-horse is used 
as an epithet of contempt in Err. Ill, 
1, 32, and Shr. IV, 1, 132. It was also 
common amongst the dramatists of the 
time. 

2. The dancing horse will tell you. 
LLL. I, 2, 57. The horse here alluded 
to was the famous horse, Morocco, 
which was owned and taught by a 
Scotchman named Bankes, and hence 
was generally known as "Bankes's 
Horse. " This horse, from all accounts, 
showed an intelligence almost human, 
and a docility such as has never been 
equalled. It is said that his most wonder- 
ful feat was his ascending to the top of 
St. Paul's Cathedral in 1600, but to my 
mind this was nothing very extraordi- 
nary ; it was the descending that was the 
marvellous feature of this performance, 
as every one familiar with horses must 
know. Raleigh, in his " History of the 
World," says : " If Bankes had lived in 
older times, he would have shamed all 
the inchanters in the world ; for who- 
soever was most famous among them 
could never master or instruct any 
beast as he did his horse." He had sil- 
ver shoes, and Bastard, in his "Epi- 
grams," thus describes his acquire- 
ments : 

Bankes hath a horse of wondrous qualitie. 

For he can fight, and dance and lie, 

And find your purse, and tell what coyne 

ye have : 
But, Bankes, who taught your horse to 

smell a knave ? 

This famous horse was exhibited aU 
over Europe. While in France, Bankes 
and his horse were accused of being in 
league with the devil, but Bankes made 
the animal kneel down to the crucifix 
and kiss it, and they were thus cleared 
of the charge, as it was held that ' ' the 
divell had no power to come neare the 
crosse. " But it was said that in Home 
they did not get off so easily, and that 
both the horse and his owner were 
burned at the stake by order of the 
Pope. Mr. Halliwell, however, has 
discovered records which show that 



HOR 



139 



HUN 



Bankes was alive in 1637, and that he 
followed the occupation of a vintner in 
Cheapside. 
3. The otninous horse. Hml. II, 2, 476. 
This refers, of course, to the wooden 
horse by means of which Troy was 
taken. The Greeks having tried in vain 
to take Troy by force of arms at length 
accomplished their purpose by deceit. 
By the advice of that sly dog-fox 
Ulysses, they constructed an immense 
wooden horse in whose inside several of 
their best warriors, including Ulysses 
and Menelaus, lay concealed. The 
Greeks then embarked as if they had 
given up their attempt to capture Troy, 
leaving the wooden horse on the shore. 
Of course, the Trojans came out to 
examine such a curious object, and 
while gazing in amazement at it a Greek 
(see Sinon), who claimed to have been 
maltreated by his country men, and who 
had mutilated himself to giv^e color to 
his story, came up and asked their pro- 
tection. He told them that the Greeks 
had constructed it as an offering to 
Minerva, and that if they would take it 
into their city and oiler it to the goddess 
they would obtain her favor and she 
would enable them to make a successful 
invasion of Greece. The Trojans took 
this advice and carried the horse within 
their walls. During the night Sinon 
undid the fastenings and allowed the 
enclosed Greeks to come out and open 
the gates of Troy to their comrades, 
who had in the meantime returned. 
In this way Troy was taken and 
burned. 

Hortensio, dr.p. Suitor to Bianca. Shr. 

Hortensius, dr\p. A servant. Tim. 

host, V. To lodge. Err. I, 2, 9 ; AU's. 
• III, 5, 97. 

Hostess, dr.p. A character in the In- 
duction. Shr. 

Hostess, dr.p. Dame Quickly of "The 
Boar's Head." IHIV. and 2HIV. And 
as wife of Pistol in HV. 

Hotspur, Henry Percy, dr.p. Son to 
the Earl of Northumberland. IHIV. 
and 2HIV. 



hot at hand. Not to be held in. Caes. 

IV, 2, 23. 
hot=house. A bagnio. Meas. II, 1, 6Q. 
hounds. The allusion in Tw, I, 1, 22, is to 

the hounds of Actason. Actseon, while 

returning from the chase, surprised 

Diana bathing. This so enraged the 

goddess that she changed him into a 

stag and he was torn to pieces by his 

own dogs, 
housel. The Eucharist, or Lord's Supper. 

See unhouseled. 
hox. To hough ; to hamstring. "Wint. I, 

2, 244. 
hoy. A small vessel. Err. IV, 3, 40. 
Hubert de Burgh, dr.p. Chamberlain 

to King John. John. 
hugger=mugger. Secresy ; privacy. Hml. 

IV, 5, 84. 
hull, V. To float. Tw. I, 5, 217. 
hulling. Floating at the mercy of the 

waves. HVIII. II, 4, 197. 
Hume, dr.p. A priest. 2HVI. 
humorous. 1. Moist ; damp. Rom. II, 

1,31. 

2. Capricious. As. I, 2, 278; John III, 
1, 119. 

3. Afflicted with "humours;" sad. LLL. 
Ill, 1, 177 ; As. IV, 1, 19. 

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, dr.p. 

2HVI. 
Humphrey, Prince of Gloucester, dr.p. 

2HIV. 
hunt. Game killed in the chase. Cym. 

Ill, 6, 89. 
Huntsman, dr.p. A character in the 

Induction. Shr. 
hunt=counter. So printed in First Folio, 

but in most modern editions given as 

two words. See counter. 
hunts=up. Any song intended to arouse 

in the morning — even a love-song — was 

formerly called a " hunt's-up," and the 

name was, of course, derived from a 

tune or song employed by early hunters. 

Drayton (1604) has the following lines : 

And now the coeke, the morning's 

trumpeter, 
Played huntsup for the day star to 

appear. 

Butler in his " Principles of Musick " 



HTTR 



140 



lAR 



(1636) defines a hunVs-up as "morning 
music," and Cot. defines Besveil as a 
hunts-up or morning song for a new- 
married wife. Chappell's " Popular 
Music of the Olden Time." Rom. Ill, 
5, 34. 

hurly. Tumult ; commotion. Shr. V, 1, 
306 ; 2HIV. Ill, 1, 25. 

hurly=burly. Uproar ; tumult. Mcb. I, 
1, 3. Used as an adjective in IHIV. V, 
1, 78. 

hurtle. 1. To pass rapidly through the 
air so as to make a noise. Caes. II, 2, 22. 
2. To dash together ; making a great 
noise. As. IV, 3, 132. 

husbandry. Thrift ; economy. Mcb. II, 
1,4. 

huswife. A housewife. Cor. I, 3, 76. 
The Globe glossary defines huswife 
here as " a jilt, " but surely without any 
reasonable grounds. From the word 
housewife or huswife comes the word 
hussy, which frequently conveys a 
suggestion of evil or, at least, of con- 
tempt, but with the possible exception 



of 0th. IV, 1, 95, housewife is always 
used by Sh. in a good sense. 

hyen. A hyena. As. IV, 1, 163. 

hypocrisy. The meaning of the passage 
in 0th. IV, 1, 9, It is hypocrisy against 
the devil, is not very clear. Johnson 
says this means "Hypocrisy to cheat 
the devil. As common hypocrites cheat 
men, by seeming good and yet live 
wickedly, these men would cheat the 
devil by giving him flattering hopes, 
and at last avoiding the crime which 
he thinks them ready to commit." 
Warburton says " this observation 
seems strangely abrupt and un occa- 
sioned ;" and Marshall ("The Henry 
Irving Shakespeare," Vol. VI, p. 97) 
considers the opening of the scene diffi- 
cult and the distribution of the speeches 
unsatisfactory. This leads him to 
suggest a somewhat different arrange- 
ment. In expurgated or "Bowdler- 
ized ' ' editions the difficulty is greatly 
enhanced, and indeed this line becomes 
nonsense and should be omitted. 



(^g^y In books printed in Sh. time 
£^i||^ and even later, this letter is 
^1^) used not only for the personal 
^S^ pronoun but for the affirmative 
aye. This has given rise to numerous 
quibbles, as in Rom. Ill, 2, 46, and 
Tw. II, 5, 147 and 148. Sir Thomas 
Samwell proposes that the passage, 
Hml. I, 2, 188, / shall not look ujjon his 
like again, should read Eye shall, etc. , 
as more in the true spirit of Sh. This 
is certainly more forcible when read, 
but when spoken (as Sh. dramas are in- 
tended to be) it is not easily appreciated. 
This is probably the reason why the 
lamented Marshall did not take note of 
it in the "Henry Irving Shakespeare," 
although that edition was prepared with 
special reference to stage effect. The 
same phrase occurs in Ado. I, 1, 184. 



Dr. Furness prefers the interpretation 
eye in both passages. 

lachimo, dr.p. A friend to Philaris. 
Cym. 

lago, dr.p. Ancient to Othello. 0th. 

larmeti. This unintelligible word occurs 
in Cym. II, 5, 16, and is evidently a 
misprint. In Fl. and F2. the words are: 

Like a full Acorn'd Boare, a larmen on. 
Ro we suggested that "larmen" was a 
misprint for "German," and Mai one 
defends this on the ground that boars 
were not hunted in Britain in the time 
of Sh. — a foolish argument, since a 
" full acorn'd " boar is not necessarily 
a hunted boar, or even a wild one. 
Warburton suggested a ' ' churning on, " 
and Collier's M.S. Corrector "a foam- 
ing one. " The word which puzzled the 
compositors who set up the First Folio 



ICE 



141 



IMP 



was most probably "human." Not 
being able to read it, they simply put 
together such letters as the copy looked 
like, and "larmen" was the result. 
That "human " makes good sense is ob- 
vious. We speak of a "human ti- 
ger," meaning a man with the char- 
acteristics of a tiger. So we might speak 
of a "human boar," meaning a man 
with the characteristics of a " full 
acorn'd boare." See "Shakespearean 
Notes and New Readings," p. 7. 

ice=brook. A brook with ice-cold water. 
0th. V, 2, 253. 

The brook here referred to is sup- 
posed to be the rivulet Salo (now Xalon) 
near Bilbilis. It is a fact well known 
to mechanics that some water enables 
the workman to give a much finer tem- 
per to steel than others. 

Iden, Alexander, dr. p. A gentleman 
of Kent. The slayer of Jack Cade. 
2HVI. 

i'fecks. In faith ; a mild oath. Wint. I, 
2, 120. Fecks or faix is the Scotch 
form of faith. 

ignomy. Ignominy; disgrace. Meas. II, 
4, 111. 

'ild. A contraction of yield. As. Ill, 3, 
76. See God Hid, 

ill=inhabited. Poorly lodged. As. Ill, 3, 
10, Not badly peopled, as our modern 
use of the word would signify. 

illustrious, ) Without lustre or bright- 

illustrous. f ness ; giving no light. Cym. 
I, 6, 109. Illustrious in the First Fo- 
lio ; illustrous and unlustrous in mod- 
ern editions. 

imbar, \ To bare ; to lay open. HV. 

imbarre. ) I, 2, 94. Schmidt adopts the 
definition to bar ; to exclude ; but this 
is evidently not the sense of the passage. 
Knight and Clarke and Wright read 
imbar, and explain it as to bar in ; to 
secure. But the context certainly does 
not bear out this rendering. 

immanity. Ferocity. IHVI. V, 1, 13. 

immask. To cover or hide with a mask. 
IHIV. I, 2, 201. 

immediacy. Nearness; close connection. 
Lr. V, 3, 65. 



immoment. Unimportant. Ant. V, 2, 
166. 

immortal. Exempt from death; living 
for ever. Used improperly by the 
clown in Ant. V, 2, 247. He, of course, 
means mortal. 

immure. A wall. Troil. Prol. 8. 

Imogen, dr.p. Daughter of Cymbeline 
and wife to Fosthumus. Cym. 

imp, n. A shoot ; a graft ; an offspring. 
LLL. I, 2, 5 ; 2HIV. V, 5, 46. 

imp, V. A term borrowed from falconry. 
"When the wing-feathers of a hawk 
were dropped or forced out by any 
accident it was usual to supply as many 
as were deficient. This operation was 
called to imp a hawk.'''' Steevens. 
RII. II, 1, 292. 

impawn, ) To pawn ; to pledge. HV. 

impone. \ I, 2, 21 ; Hml. V, 2, 155. 

impeach. A reproach; an accusation. 
Err. V, 1, 269; 3HVI. I, 4, 60. 

impeachment. Hindrance. (French em- 
pechenient.) HV. Ill, 6, 151. 

impercieverant, ) Dull of perception ; 

imperseverant. S thoughtless. Cym. IV, 

I, 15. 

impeticos. A word coined by the fool 
and evidently meaning to pocket. Tw. 

II, 3, 27. 

Johnson proposes to read impetticoat, 
and gives as a reason that fools were 
kept in long coats and that the allowed 
fool was occasionally dressed in petti- 
coats. But Malone, supported by Dyce 
and many others, urges that the reading 
of the old copy should not be disturbed. 
importance. 1. Meaning. Wint. V, 2, 
20. 

2. Consequence; weight. Wint. II, 1, 
181. 

3. Subject ; matter. Cym. I, 4, 45. 

4. Importunity. Tw. V, 1, 371. 
important. Importunate. Lr. IV, 4, 

26; Err. V, 1, 138. 
importing. Significant; expressive. All's. 
V, 3, 136. 

In the passage. Than settled age his 
sables and his weeds, importing health 
and graveness (Ilml. IV, 7, 81), the 
word health has received much com- 



IMP 



142 



IND 



ment. Schm. defines it as "wellfare, 
prosperity;" Malone and others explain 
it = care for health. Warburton ob- 
jects that a warm-furred gown implies 
sickness rather than health, and pro- 
poses to emend by reading ivealth. 
Johnson undoubtedly struck the true 
explanation when he gave to importing 
its etymological meaning, as Sh. does 
to so many other words, as noted in 
this glossary. Johnson says: ''Import- 
ing here may be, not inferring by 
logical consequence, but producing by 
physical effect. A young man regards 
show in his dress, an old man health.''^ 

impose. Injunction ; command. Gent. 
IV, 3, 8. 

imposition. 1. Imposture ; means of de- 
ception. 0th. II, 3, 269. 

2. Charge ; command. Lucr. 1697 ; 
Merch. I, 2, 114. 

3. Accusation; imputation. Meas. I, 2, 
194 ; Wint. I, 2, 74. 

Upon the latter passage Warburton 
makes the following note: "Setting 
aside original sin ; bating the imposi- 
tion from the offence of our first 
parents, we might have boldly protested 
our innocence to heaven." 
imposthume. An abscess. Troil. V, 1, 

24. 
imprese, \ n. A device with a motto 
impress, ii engraved or painted on any- 
thing. RII. Ill, 1, 25. 
impress, v. To compel to serve ; to force 

into service. Mcb. IV, 1, 95. 
incapable. Unconscious. Hml. IV, 7, 

179. 
incardinate. A blunder for incarnate. 

Tw. V, 1, 185. 
incarnadine, ) To make red. Mcb. 
incarnardine. \ II, 2, 62. 
incense. Nares tells us that besides the 
usual meanings, this word is a Stafford- 
shire provincialism signifying to in- 
form; to instruct; to school. And 
this seems to be the sense in which it is 
used in HVIII. V, 1, 43; RIII. Ill, 1, 
152; Ado. V, 1,242. 
incision. Blood-letting. God make in- 
cision in thee (As. Ill, 2, 75) = God 



cure thee. Blood-letting was one of 
the most common methods of cure in 
the time of Sh. The passage : A fever 
in your blood ! why then incision 
ivould let her oxit in saucers, LLL. IV, 
3, 98, "has been erroneously explained 
as containing an allusion to the mad 
fashion of lovers stabbing themselves 
and drinking their blood in honor of 
their mistresses ; it merely means ' if 
your mistress reigns a fever in your 
blood, get yourself blooded, and so let 
her out in saucers. ' " Dyce. 

incli^meal. By inches. Tp. II, 2, 3. An 
example of the modern use of meal in 
this sense is seen in piece-meal. See 
also limb-meal. 

inclining. Compliant. 0th. II, 3, 346. 

inclip. To embrace ; to enclose. Ant. 
II, 7, 74. 

include. To end ; to conclude. Gent. V, 
4, 160 ; Troil. I, 3, 119. 

incontinent. Immediately. As. V, 2, 44. 

incontinently. Immediately. 0th. I, 3, 
307. 

incony. A word apparently coined by 
Costard, and meaning fine, delicate. 
LLL. Ill, 1, 136; do. IV, 1, 144. 

incorporate. Identified with ; forming 
part of the same body. Caes. I, 3, 135. 

incorpsed. Made one bod}^ Hml. IV, 
7, 88. 

incorrect. Rebellious; ill-regulated. Hml. 

I, 2, 95. 

indent. To bargain ; to compromise. 

IHIV. I, 3, 87. 
indenture. Agreement ; contract. IHIV. 

II, 4, 53 ; Hml. V, 1, 119. 
"Indentures were agreements made 

out in duplicate, of which each party 
kept one. Both were written on the 
same sheet, which was cut in two in a 
crooked or indented line, in order that 
the fitting of the two parts might prove 
the genuineness of both in case of dis- 
pute." Clark and Wright. This was 
no doubt the original meaning. But 
cf. IHIV. Ill, 1, 80. 

index. Explanatory preface or prologue. 
RIII. IV, 4, 85 ; Hml. Ill, 4, 52. 

Indian, In the Fl. the reading is Like 



IND 



143 



INH 



the base Judean in 0th. V, 2, 347. 
Some defend this reading on the ground 
that the allusion may be to the well- 
known story of Herod and Mariamne. 
Boswell, however, quotes several pre- 
cisely parallel passages from the older 
dramatists in which ignorant Indians 
are represented as throwing away valu- 
able gems, supposing them to be worth- 
less pebbles. Thus Howard, in The 
Womaifi's Conquest, says : 

Behold my queen— 
Who with no more concern I'll cast 



Than Indians do a pearl that ne'er did 

know 
Its value. 

indict. To accuse ; to convict. Hml. II, 
2, 464; 0th. Ill, 4, 154. (In some 
editions, both old and recent, this word 
is spelled indite.) 

indite. Used blunderingly for invite. 
2HIV. II, 1, 30. In Rom. II, 4, 135 the 
word is probably used by Benvolio in 
derision of the nurses " confidence." 

indifferency. Moderation. 2HIV. IV, 3, 
23. 

indifferent. Neither good nor bad; 
ordinary ; commonplace. Hml. II, 2, 
231. 

indifferently. 1. In a reasonable degree ; 
tolerably. Hml. Ill, 2, 41. 
2. ImpartiaUy. Tit. I, 1, 430. 

indigest, n. A chaos. John V, 7, 26. 

indigest, ac?/. Chaotic ; formless. Sonn. 
CXIV, 5. 

indign. Disgraceful. 0th, I, 3, 274, 

indubitate. Evident; without doubt. A 
word coined by Armado. LLL, IV, 1, 
67. 

induction . Beginning; introduction. 
IHIV. Ill, 1, 2 ; RIII, I, 1, 32. 

indrenclied. Covered with water. Troil. 
1, 1, 51. 

indued. Adapted to ; destined for. Hml. 
IV, 7, 180. 

indurance. Delay. HVIII. V, 1, 122. 
According to some, indurance here is 
equivalent to suffering ; according to 
others, it is durance or confinement. In 
some editions it is spelled endurance. 



inexecrable. That cannot be suflaciently 
execrated. Merch. IV, 1, 128. 

infamonize. Armado's word for disgrace. 
LLL, V, 2, 684. 

infect. To affect. John IV, 3, 69. 

infection. A contagious disease. InVen. 
508 "the poet evidently alludes to a 
practice of his own age, when it was 
customary, in time of plague, to strew 
the rooms of every house with rue and 
other strong-smelling herbs, to prevent 
infection, ' ' Malone. 

infer. To bring in ; to introduce. The 
radical or etymological sense of the 
word, RIII, IV, 4, 343 ; do. V, 3, 314 ; 
Tim. Ill, 5, 73. Sh, sometimes uses the 
word in its modern sense of deducing, 
p7'oving, as in HV. I, 2, 204. 

infinite, n. Utmost power. Ado. II, 3. 
106. 

infinitive. Quicklyismfortw/int^e. 2HIV. 
II, 1, 26. 

inform. 1. To take shape. Mcb, II, 1, 48, 
2. To animate; to inspire. Cor. V, 3, 71. 

informal. Crazy. Meas. V, 1, 230. 

ingener. One possessed of great natural 
gifts. Steevens. 0th. II, 1, 65. 

" An ingenious person, a deviser, an 
artist, a painter ; but the reading is 
questionable. ' ' Dyce. 

ingraft. Made to form a part of the in- 
dividual, as a graft forms part of a 
tree. 0th. II, 3, 145. Some editions, 
engraffed. 

inliabit. Mcb. Ill, 4, 105. This passage 
has been discussed to such an extent, 
both as to the proper reading and also 
as to the meaning of the word, that it 
would seem almost impossible to reach 
a positive conclusion on these points. But 
amidst all this confusion and doubt, the 
general idea which Sh. wished to con- 
vey stands out clear and indubitable. 

inhabitable. Not habitable. RII. 1, 1, 65. 

inhabited. Lodged. See ill-inhabited. 

inherit. 1. To take possession. Tp. II. 
2,179; Gent. Ill, 2, 87. 
2. To put in possession. RII. I, 1, 85. 

inhibition. Prohibition ; hindrance. Hml. 
II, 2, 346. Probably an allusion to a 
law passed in 1600 forbidding theatrical 



INH 



144 



INT 



performances in the city of London, 
except at the Globe and the Fortune. 
Hence many players were forced to 
travel into the country. 

inhooped. Enclosed in a hoop. Cocks 
or quails were sometimes made to fight 
within a broad or, perhaps i-ather, a 
deep hoop to prevent them from run- 
ning away from each other. Ant. Ill, 
3,38. 

Iniquity. "One name of the Vice, who 
was the established buffoon in the old 
Moralities and other imperfect dramas. 
He had the name soixietimes of one vice, 
sometimes of another, but most com- 
monly of Iniquity, or vice itself. He 
was grotesquely dressed in a cap with 
ass's ears, a long coat, and a dagger of 
lath ; and one of his chief employments 
was to make sport with the devil, leap- 
ing on his back and belabouring him 
with his dagger of lath, till he made 
him roar. The devil, however, always 
carried him off in the end, the morality 
of which representation clearly was 
that sin, which has the wit and courage 
to make merry with the devil, and is 
allowed by him to take great liberties, 
must finally become his prey. This is 
the regular end also of Punch, in the 
puppet-shows, who, as Dr. Johnson 
rightly observed, is the legitimate suc- 
cessor of the old Iniquity ; or, rather, 
is the old Vice himself transposed from 
living to wooden actors. His successors 
on the stage were the fools and clowns, 
who so long continued to supply his 
place, in making sport for the common 
people. Harlequin is another scion 
from the same stock. ' ' Nares. 

Continumg, this author says : " Fraud, 
covetousness, vanity and vices [or sins] 
enumerated by Ben Johnson [in " The 
Devil is an Ass "] were the most com- 
mon. Vanity is even used for the Vice 
occasionally." Sh. gives us the Vice, 
Iniquity and Vanity together in IHIV. 
II, 4, 499. The Vice and his functions 
are frequently referred to in Sh. See 
Tw. IV, 2, 130. 

injointed. Joined. 0th. I, 3, 35. 



ink. See B. 

ink=horn mate. A bookish man ; an 
ecclesiastic ; a term of contempt. IHVI. 
Ill, 1, 99. 

inkle. A kind of inferior tape. LLL. 
Ill, 1, 140 ; Wint. IV, 4, 208. 

inland. Civilized ; probably living near 
a town. Caldecott says : ' ' Uplandish in 
our early writers and dictionaries is 
interpreted ' unbred, rude, rustical, 
clownish, because,' says Minsheu (1fil7), 
' the people that dwell among moun- 
tains are severed from the civilitye of 
cities.'" As. II, 7, 96. cf. Scotch 
Landwart. 

inly, adj. Inward. Gent. II, 7, 18 ; 
3HVI. I, 4, 171. 

inly, adv. Inwardly. Tp. V, 1, 200; 
HV. IV, Chor. 24. 

innocent. An idiot. All's. IV, 3, 214; 
Per. IV, 3, 17 ; Kins. IV, 1. 

inquisition. Search ; inquiry. Tp. I, 2, 
35 ; As. II, 2, 20. 

insane root. Supposed to be either 
hemlock or henbane. Mcb. I, 3, 84. 
See hemlock. The best authorities, 
however, are agreed that it is impossible 
to decide just what plant Sh. meant. 

insanie. Madness. (A word coined by 
Holof ernes.) LLL. V, 1, 28. 

insconce. 1. To hide ; to shelter. Wiv. 
Ill, 3, 96. 
2. To protect ; to fortify. Err. II, 2, 38. 

insculped. Engraved ; cut. Merch. II, 
7, 57. 

inseulpture. An inscription cut in stone. 
Tim. V, 4, 67. 

insisture. Persistency. Troil. I, 3, 87. 

instance. 1. Motive. Hml. Ill, 2, 194. 
2. Proof. 2HIV. Ill, 1, 103. 

intelligencer. An agent ; a go-between, 
mil. IV, 4, 71. 

intend. 1. To pretend. Lucr. 121; Ado. 
II, 2, 35. 

2. To lead to ; to tend. 2HIV. I, 2, 9. 

3. To set forth ; to exhibit. Mids. Ill, 
2, 333. 

4. Used by Dr. Caius in the sense of the 
French entendre = understand. Wiv. 
I, 4, 47. 

intending. Regarding. Tim. II, 2, 219. 



INT 



145 



IRI 



intendment. Intention; purpose. 0th. 

IV, 2, 206. 

intenible. Unretentive. All's. I, 3, 210. 

intentively. Attentively ; with close ap- 
plication. 0th. I, 3, 155. 

interessed. Interested ; connected with. 
Lr. I, 1, 87. 

intermission. Delay. Mcb. IV, 3, 232. 

interpret. To explain. I could inter- 
pret between you and your love if I 
could see the pujDpets dallying. Hml. 
Ill, 2, 256. This is an allusion to the 
puppet-shows or motions in which the 
actions of the puppets were always 
explained oi* interpreted to the audience 
by the interpreter. See motion. 

intrenchant. That cannot be cut. Mcb. 

V, 8, 9. 

intrinse. Intricate ; entangled. Lr. II, 
2, 81. Such is the meaning given 
to this word by all English-speaking 
authorities so far as we have been able 
to find. Schm. deJfines it as "intimate ; 
internal; deep-rooted." 

intrinsicate. Intricate. Ant. V, 2, 307. 

invectively. Reproachfully. As. II, 1, 
58. 

invention. 1. Forgery ; falsehood. Mcb. 
Ill, 1, 33. 

2. Imagination. Ven. Ded. 5 ; 0th. II, 

1, 126. 

3. Activity of mind. Meas. II, 4, 3. 
invincible. Invisible; not to be made 

out. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 337. Some eds. 
read invisible. 

Invitus nubibus. Latin, the meaning of 
which is : In spite of the clouds. 
Malone quotes Camden as follows : 
" Edward III bore for his device the 
rays of the sun dispersing themselves 
out of a cloud. " 2HVI. IV, 1, 99. 

inward. An intimate friend ; one privy 
to the thoughts of another. Meas. Ill, 

2, 138. 

inwardness. Intimacy. Ado. IV, 1 , 247. 

lo. And how she was beguiled and sur- 
prised. Shr. Ind. II, 57. 

lo w^as the daughter of Inachus, the 
first King of Argos and the founder of 
the worship of Hera, with whom the 
Romans identified their goddess Juno. 



Jupiter fell in love with her and aroused 
the jealousy of Juno. In order to pro- 
tect lo, Jupiter transformed her into a 
beautiful heifer, but Juno, suspecting 
the intrigue, requested the heifer as a 
gift, and the request was granted. Juno 
then placed lo under the charge of 
Argus, who tied her to an olive tree 
and watched her with his hundred eyes, 
two of which only were ever closed at 
a time. See Argus. 

It is also said that under the surveil- 
lance of Argus she wandered about on 
different pastures, and on one occasion 
came to her former home, where her 
father and sisters were mourning for 
her absence, believing her to be dead. 
They fed and petted the beautiful 
heifer and lo let them know who she 
was by writing her name, " lo," in the 
sand with her foot. Jupiter at last, in 
answer to her prayers, sent Hermes or 
Mercury to deliver her. Mercury ap- 
peared as a shepherd and so won upon 
Argus by his singing and playing that 
at last he put the giant to sleep and cut 
off his head. But lo's wanderings con- 
tinued for a long time after the death 
of Argus. Some writers tell us that 
she was tormented by the stings of a 
gadfly sent by Juno, and that she was 
driven in a frenzy from land to land 
over the whole earth. The Bosporus 
is said to have derived its name from 
the fact that she swam across it. At 
length she found rest on the banks 
of the Nile, where she reco\'ered her 
original form, and bore to Jupiter a 
son who was named Epaphus. Accord- 
ing to some, she afterwards married 
Telegonus, King of Egypt, and was 
identified with the Egyptian Isis. 

Iras, dr. p. Attendant on Cleopatra. Ant. 

Iris, dr. p. A spirit. Tp. 

Iris was the daughter of Thaumas 
and of Electra, and sister of the Harpies. 
Iris appears to have been originally the 
personification of the rainbow, for this 
brilliant phenomenon in the skies, which 
vanishes as quickly as it appears, was 
regarded as the swift messenger of the 



IBB 



146 



JAC 



gods. Some poets describe Iris as the 
rainbow itself, while others represent 
the rainbow as only the road on which 
Iris travels, and which therefore appears 
whenever the goddess wants it, and 
vanishes when it is no longer needed. 
lu the earlier poets Iris appears as a 
virgin goddess, but in the later she is 
the wife of Zephyrus and the mother of 
Eros. 

irregulous. Lawless ; unprincipled. Cym. 
IV, 2, 315. 

iron=witted. Unfeeling ; insensible. RIII. 
IV, 2, 28. 

Isabel, dr.p. Queen of France. HV. 

Isabella, dr.p. Sister to Claudio. Meas. 

Isls. The references to this goddess are 
found only in the play of Antony and 
Cleopatra. She was one of the chief 
of the Egyptian divinities, and was the 
wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus, 
the Egyptian god of the sun. As Osiris, 
the god of the Nile, taught the people 
the use of the plough, so Isis invented 
the cultivation of wheat and barley, 
which were carried about in the pro- 
cessions at her festivals. In works of 
art Isis appears in figure and counten- 



ance like Juno ; she wears a long tunic 
and her upper garment is fastened 
on her breast by a knot ; her head is 
crowned with a lotus flower, and her 
right hand holds the sistrum, a kind of 
musical instrument in which the sounds 
are produced by shaking. 

isle. Fertile the isle. Wint. Ill, 1, 2. 
Delphos was not situated on an island. 
See Delphos. 

iterance. Repetition. 0th. V, 2, 148. 

iteration. Repetition. IHIV. I, 2, 101 ; 
Troil. Ill, 2, 183 ; 0th. V, 2, 150. 

Iwis, ) Assuredly ; certainly. A modi- 

I wis. ) fied form of the Anglo-saxon 
ge-ivis. Merch. II, 9, 68 ; RIII. I, 3, 102. 
"It is to be particularly noted that 
the Middle-English prefix i (= A. s. ge) 
is often written apart from the rest of 
the word, and with a capital letter. 
Hence, by a mistake of editors, it is 
sometimes printed I wis, and explained 
to mean ' I know. ' Hence, further, 
the imaginary verb wis, to know, has 
found its way into our dictionaries. 
But it is pure fiction ; the verb being 
wit." Skeat. In the Fl. the reading 
is Iwis. 




ACK. 1. A form of John used 
familiarly, as in 2HIV. II, 2, 
143. Jack Falstaff with my 
familiars, John with "my 

brothers and sisters, and Sir John 

with all Europe. 

2. A term of contempt denoting a mean, 
low fellow. Ado. V, 1, 91 ; Rom. II, 4, 
160 ; Cor. V, 2, 67. 

3. A drinking measure. Shr. IV, 1, 51. 
A play upon the words jacks and jills, 
which signify two drinking measures 
as well as men and maid-servants. 
Steevens. 

4. The small bowl (sometimes called the 
mistress) aimed at in the game of bowl- 
ing. Cym. I, 2, 2, To kiss the jack 



is a state of great advantage. Johnson. 
5. A key of the virginal. Sonn. 
CXXVIII. 5, 13. 

Jack'=a=Lent. A puppet thrown at during 
Lent, as cocks were thrown at on 
Shrove Tuesday. Wiv. Ill, 3, 27. 

jack=an=apes. An ape ; a monkey. Wiv. 
IV, 4, 67 ; Cym. II, 1, 4. 

jack=dog. A term of contempt coined 
by Dr. Caius. Wiv. II, 3, 65. 

Jack guardant. A Jack-in-ofiice ; a low 
fellow occupying a position of import- 
ance. Cor. V, 2, 67. 

Jack=o»=lantern, or Will-o' -the- Wisp. A 
certain luminous vapor or ignis fatuus. ' 
Tp. IV, 1, 198. cf. Ado. I, 1, 186. 

Jack»o'°the°clock. In old clocks a. figure 



JAC 



147 



JET 



which struck the bel'l to mark the hours. 
RII. V, 5, 60. 

Jack Cade. See Cade. 

Jack=sauce. A saucy fellow. HV. IV, 
7, 149. 

Jack=slave. A mean fellow. Cym. II, 
1, 22. 

jadery. Jade's tricks. Kins. 5, 4. 

jade, n. A worthless, wicked or mal- 
treated horse. Meas. II, J, 269 ; Ado. I, 
1, 145 ; 2HI V. 1, 1, 45. Also applied as a 
term of contempt to men and women. 
Shr. II, 1, 202 ; John II, 1, 385. 

Sh. frequently refers to "jade's 
tricks. ' ' These are of an " infinite varie- 
ty." The reference in Ado. I, 1, 145, 
You ahvays end with a jade''s trick, 
is thus explained by Dr. Furness : ' ' Re- 
ferring to Every Man in his Humour, 
III, 2, Cob says, ' An you offer to ride 
me with your collar, or halter either, I 
may hap shew you a jade's trick, sir. ' 
Cash replies : 'O, you'll slip your head 
out of the collar. ' As soon as Beatrice 
has fairly collared Benedick, he says, 
'he is done,' and by this jade's trick 
slips his head out of the collar, and 
Beatrice may talk to the empty air. ' ' 

Pistol's expression : Hollow pamperhl 
jades of Asia, which cannot yo but 
thirty miles a-day (2IIIV. II, 4, 178) 
is a corruption of a line in the Second 
Part of Marlowe's Tamburlane, IV, 4 : 
Holla, ye pamper'd jades of Asia 1 
What 1 Can ye draw but twenty miles 
a-day ? 
The jades were the conquered kings 
whom Tamburlane compelled to draw 
his chariot. 

jade, V. To make ridiculous or contempt- 
ible. Tw. II, 5, 180. 

Jakes. A privy. Lr. II, 2, 59, A coarse 
pun on Ajax. LLL. V, 2, 581. 

James Qurney. See Gurney. 

Jamy, dr.p. An oflBcer in the army of 
Henry V. HV. 

jane. A kind of cheap cotton cloth. The 
word is still in use with a variation in 
the spelling. Kins. Ill, 5. 

jangle. To sound discordantly. Hml. 
Ill, 1, 166. 



Jaquenetta, dr.p. A country girl. LLL. 

Jaques, dr.p. Son to Sir Rowland de 
Bois. As. 

Jaques, dr.p. A lord attendant on the 
banished Duke. " The melancholy 
Jaques." As. 

jar, n. The tick of a clock. Wint. I, 2, 43. 

jar, V. To tick as a clock, RII. V, 5, 51. 

jaunce, v. To ride hard ; to harass the 
horse. RII. V, 5, 94. 

jaunce. A rough journey ; a wild tramp. 
Rom. II, 5, 26. In some eds. jaunt. 

jay. A loose woman. Wiv. Ill, 3, 44; 
Cym. Ill, 4, 51. 

jennet. See gennet. 

Jeronimy. The phrase, Go by, Jeronimy, 
iised by Sly (Shr. Ind. I, 9) is a mean- 
ingless expression intended, it is said, 
to ridicule a play by Thomas Kyd, 
which was quite popular in its time. 
The play was entitled: The Spanish 
Tragedy, containing the lamentable 
end of Don Horatio and Bel-Imperia 
with the pitiful death of Old Hiero- 
nimo. Numerous sarcastic allusions to 
this play are to be found in the dramas 
of Shakespeare's tijne, and this saying 
of Sly's is a quotation of a line from the 
fourth act. As the play was quite 
popular, this line may ha\ e become a 
popular ' ' gag. ' ' Instances of meaning- 
less sayings taken from popular plays 
and used as slang expressions are quite 
common now. Jeronimy is supposed 
to be a corruption of Hieronomo. 

jesses. "The short straps of leather, 
but sometimes of silk, which went 
round the legs of a hawk, in which 
were fixed the varvels or little rings of 
silver, and to these the leash, or long 
strap, which the falconer twisted round 
his hand." Nar-es. 0th. Ill, 3, 261. 

Jessica, dr.p. Daughter to Shylock. 
Merch. 

jest. A play or masque. RII. I, 3, 95. 

jet. 1. To strut; to stalk. Cym. Ill, 3, 5. 
2. To exult over; to treat with insolence. 
RIII. II, 4, 51. 

jet, V. 1. To stalk ; to strut. Tw. II, 5, 
36 ; Cym. Ill, 3, 5. 
2. To insult ; to flout. RIII. II, 4, 51. 



\ 



JEW 



M8 



JOH 



Jewes eye. Thus in Fl. Most modern 
eds. read Jewess^ eye. Merch. II, 5, 
43. " Worth a Jew's eye " was a com- 
mon expression for something of great 
value, the Jews being frequently com- 
pelled to pay a large ransom or, in 
default, to have an eye put out. There 
is probably a pun intended ; " worth a 
Jewess' eye " meaning worthy the 
attention of a Jewess, and "worth a 
Jew's eye" meaning of great value. 
Grant White objected to the use of the 
word Jewess on the ground that it is 
modern, but Dyce shows that it was in 
use in Tyndale's Bible (1525). Grant 
White, Ingleby and some others have 
made bad mistakes by founding im- 
portant claims upon the alleged fact 
that certain words were not in use in 
the time of Sh. 

jig. A facetious metrical composition ; a 
humorous ballad ; a merry dance. Pilg. 
253 ; Hml. II, 2, 522 ; Ado. II, 1, 77. 

jig=maker. A writer or composer of jigs. 
Hml. Ill, 2, 131. 

Joan. The name of a woman ; also a 
hawk. 2IIVI. II, 1, 4. In this passage 
the meaning is that "the wind was so 
high it was ten to one that old Joan 
[the hawk] would not have taken her 
flight at the game." Percy. 

Joan La Pucelle, d?\p. Commonly called 
Joan of Arc. IHVI. 

Joan, or rather Jeanne d'Arc or 
Dare, known also as the Maid of Or- 
leans, was born about 1411 at Domremy, 
a small village partly in Champagne 
and partly in Lorraine. Her father 
was Jaques Dare, a peasant proprietor 
of Domremy. She never learned to 
read or write, but was brought up most 
religiously by her mother. In early 
girlhood she was remarkable for physical 
vigor and energy, but without the least 
tendency to coarseness or unfeminine 
ways. She was a most duteous daughter, 
and her kindness of heart and good 
temper made her a favorite with all 
her neighbors. Up to about her seven- 
teenth year she tended her father's 
sheep, and during the solitude of this 



occupation her imagination led her to 
hear voices and see visions. At this 
time France was in hard straits, for the 
English had greatly extended their con- 
quests through an alliance with Philip 
of Burgundy. At length Joan believed 
that the Virgin Mary appeared to her 
and commanded her to arise and deliver 
her country from the oppressor. It is 
doubtful if in her seclusion she had 
ever heard of the famous prophecy by 
Merlin that France was to be delivered 
from oppression by a chaste virgin, but 
this prophecy was current among the 
people, and perhaps prepared the way 
for the events that occurred. Her in- 
troduction to Charles ; her raising of 
the siege of Orleans ; her victory at 
Patay and the capture of Troyes are 
well-known matters of history. At the 
defence of Compiegne against the Duke 
of Burgundy she was made prisoner by 
the Burgundians and sold to the English, 
who delivered her to the Inquisition, 
by whom she was burned at the stake 
in the streets of Ptouen. 

According to the best historical 
authorities of modern times, with, 
perhaps, a single exception, the filthy- 
minded Voltaire, Joan d'Arc was a 
woman of the most pure and noble char- 
acter, and it is greatly to be regretted 
that Sh. should have cast upon her the 
vile slurs which are found in IHVI. But 
Sh. took his information from the sources 
which he found most readily at hand, 
Hall and Holinshed, and as his great 
object in producing these plays was to 
make money, he too often sacrificed the 
truth of history to the existing likes 
and dislikes of the public that patronised 
his theatre. But it is pleasant to know 
that amongst the tributes offered to the 
memory of the Maid of Orleans, none 
have been more sincere or more lauda- 
tory than those paid by the descendants 
of her enemies. 

John, dr. p. A follower of Jack Cade. 
2HVI. 

John, Don, dr.p. Bastard brother to 
Don Pedro. Ado. 



JOH 



149 



JUM 



John, Friar, dr. p. A Franciscan. Rom. 
John of Qaunt, dr.p. Duke of Lan- 
caster. 

John, Prince of Lancaster, dr.p. Son to 
Henry IV. IHIV. and 2HIV. 

John Talbot, dr.p. Son to Lord Talbot. 
IHVI. 

John a=dreanis. A dreamy, idle fellow. 
Hml. II, 2, 595.- 

jOint=ring. A split ring, the halves made 
to fit in each other very closely when 
united, and the joined hands to lock it 
tight. Such rings were extensively 
used as love tokens in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries. Fairholt. 
0th. IV, 3, 73. 

joint=stool. The phrase, Cry you mercy, 
I took you for a joint stool (Lr. Ill, 6, 
54), seems to have been a common slang 
expression in the time of Sh. Like 
similar slang phrases of the present 
day, it probably had no meaning and 
was used by those who wished to appear 
"smart." 

jole. Bee jowl. 

joll, / V. To knock or dash. AU's. I, 3, 

jowl, ) 60 ; Hml. V, 1, 83. 

jolthead. A blockhead. Shr. IV, 1, 169. 

Jordan. A slang name for a chamber 
utensil. IHIV. II, 1, 23. 

The history of this word is not very 
clearly made out. It appears as early 
as 1383. The most probable origin 
seems to me to be from the name of the 
river Jordan. Pilgrims on their return 
from the Holy Land brought back a 
bottle of the water of the sacred river 
for baptismal purposes, and the bottles 
themselves, which seem to have re- 
sembled the well-known Florence flask 
in shape, when emptied, continued to 
be looked upon as somewhat sacred. 
Hence, they were employed by chemists 
for their more delicate operations, and 
also by certain quack doctors. Owing 
to the use made of them by the latter 
the name came to be applied to any 
vessel used for a similar purpose. It is 
not probable that the original bottles 
ever became so common as to be so 
used. See Skeat's " Etymological Dic- 



tionary" and the " Promptorium Parvu- 
lorum," Vol. 1, page 367. 

The word has no connection with 
joram, as intimated in a recent glossary. 
Joram signifies a bowl of punch. 
Jourdain, Margery, <i?\j>. A witch. 2HVI. 
Margery Jourdain was a real charac- 
ter, also known as the witch of Eye. 
It was laid to her charge that she and 
her confederates had, at the request of 
the Duchess of Gloster, devised an 
image of wax representing the king, 
which by their sorcery a little and a 
little consumed, intending thereby in 
conclusion to waste and destroy the 
king's person and so to bring him to 
death. Margery was burnt in Smith- 
field, and one of her confederates, Roger 
Bolingbroke, was drawn and quartered, 
at Tyburn, protesting his innocence 
with his last breath. 

journal. Daily. Gym. IV, 3, 10. 

journeyman, A man who, having passed 
his apprenticeship, is hired to work by 
the day. French, journe'e, a day's work. 
RII. I, 3, 274 ; Hml. Ill, 3, 37. 

Jove. See Jupiter. 

Jovial. 1. Like Jupiter or Jove. Cym. 
IV, 3, 311, and V, 4, 105. 
2. Merry. Mcb. Ill, 3, 38. 

Judas. See Cain-colored. 

Judean. See Indian. 

judicious. Critical. Wiv. I, 3, 68. 

Jug. Whoop, Jug ! I love thee ! Com- 
mentators are not agreed as to the 
meaning of this expression of the fool. 
It probably had no special meaning and 
was merely a sort of "explosive" ex- 
clamation, perhaps taken from some 
old song. " Jug" was a nickname for 
Joan. Lr. I, 4, 345. 

Julia, dr.p. A lady of Verona. Gent. 

Juliet, dr.p. Betrothed to Claudio. Meas. 

Juliet, dr.p. Daughter to Capulet. Rom. 

July, the sixth of. Wright points out 
that this was old Midsummer Day and 
an appropriate date for such midsummer 
madness. Ado. I, 1, 285. 

jump, n. A stake ; a hazard. Ant. Ill, 
8, 6. 

jump, adv. Exactly ; pat. Hml. I, 1, 65. 



JUN 



150 



JUV 



Junius Brutus. See Brutus. 

junkets. Dainties. Shr. Ill, 3, 250. 

Juno, dr.}}. A spirit. Tp. 

Juno was the chief goddess in the 
Roman mj^thology. She was identified 
by the Romans with the Greek Hera, 
who was the daughter of Cronos and 
Rhea, and sister and wife of Zeus or 
Jupitei". She was the goddess who pre- 
sided over all the important affairs of 
women. As the most important period 
in a woman's life is marriage, she was 
supposed to preside over this event, and 
the month of June, which is said to 
have been originally called Junonius, 
was considered to be the most favorable 
period for marrying. Her most promi- 
nent characteristic was jealousy, and 
she bitterly persecuted all the children 
of Jupiter by mortal mothers — Hercules, 
Bacchus and others. In art she is 
usually represented as a mature woman 
of majestic appearance, with a beauti- 
ful forehead, large and widely-opened 
eyes, and a grave expression command- 
ing reverence. The peacock was sacred to 
her. See Argus and lo. In As. I, 3, 
77, Celia says: like Juno's sivans, Still 
went ive coupled and inseparable. 
This is a mistake. The SM^an was sacred 
to Venus. 

Jupiter. The supreme deity of the 
Romans and identified by them with 
the Greek Zeus, who was a son of 
Cronos and Rhea. He is called the 
father of gods and men, the most high 
and powerful among the immortals and 
the one whom all others obey. Being 
the lord of heaven, he was worshipped 
as the god of rain, storms, thunder and 
lightning, the epithets Pluvius, Ful- 
gurator, Tonans, etc., being given to 
him in each special case. He is the hero 
of numerous amatory intrigues, many of 
which are alluded to in Sh., and the 
details of which will be found under 
Europa, lo, Leda, etc. Jupiter was 
regarded as the guardian of law, the 
protector of justice and virtue, and the 
maintainer of the sanctity of an oath ; 
hence, perhaps, the frequent invocation 



of Jupiter or Jove in the oaths of the 
ancients. As he was lord of heaven 
and prince of light, the white color was 
sacred to him ; consequently white 
animals were sacrificed to him ; his 
chariot was drawn by white horses, and 
his priests were dressed in white. The 
eagle, the oak and the summits of 
mountains were sacred to him. Ac- 
cording to the belief of the Romans, 
he determined the course of all earthly 
and human affairs ; he foresaw the 
future and the events happening in 
it were the result of his will. In 
works of art his usual attributes are 
the scepter, eagle, thunderbolt and a 
figure of Victory in his hand. The 
name Jupiter signifies father or lord, 
being a contraction of Diovis pater or 
Diespiter. 

jure. A word manufactured by Falstaff 
for the occasion and evidently having 
no definite meaning. Grant White says : 
" Falstaff 's exclamation, 'You are 
grand jurors, are ye? We'll jure ye, 
i' faith,' seems to be based on an in- 
tended whimsical misunderstanding of 
' we ' and 'ours ' in the Traveller's out- 
cry ; ' ours ' having probably been pro- 
nounced oars in Shakespeare's day." 

just. Besides the usual meanings em- 
bodying ideas of justice and right, this 
word is used by Sh. both as an adjec- 
tive and as an adverb to signify exact- 
ness and precision. Merch. IV, 1, 327 ; 
Ado. I, 1, 375; AU's. V, 3, 221; 0th. 
II, 8, 129. In Ado. II, 1, 28, just = 
exactly so. 

just, V. To tilt as in a tournament. Per. 
II, 1, 116. 

Justice Sliallow. See Shallow. 

justicer. A judge. Lr. Ill, 6, 59 ; Cym. 
V, 5, 214. 

jut. 1. To encroach. RIII. II, 4, 51. 
Also spelled Je^. 

2. To project ; to thrust forth. Tim. I, 
2, 237. 

jutty, n. A projection. Mcb. I, 6, 6. 

jutty, V. To project. HV. Ill, 1, 13. , 

juvenal. A youth. LLL. I, 2, 8 ; 2HIV. 
I, 2, 22. 



KAM 



151 



KIN 



|W/MariUAM. Crooked ; awry ; wrongj. 

Lil^*v3 C'Zean kavi (Cor. Ill, 1, 304) 

^fr^^j = entirely wrong. Sometimes 

^ ^ w written cam. This word, like 
crank, is no doubt connected with the 
mechanical idea involved in the device 
known as a cam or crank. 

Kate. See Percy, Lady. 

Kate. In The Taming of the Shrew Sh. 
introduces several puns on this word ; 
thus in II, 1, 190 : For dainties all 
are Kates is evidently a pun on cates 
and Kates. In the same Act and scene, 
line 279, some see a play upon ivild cat 
and wild Kate, but this seems to me 
rather far-fetched. Still, in the rollick- 
ing "chaflE" between Petruchio and 
Katharina we may imagine almost 
anything in the way of puns and 
quibbles. 

Katharina, dr.p. The shrew. Shr. 

Katharine, dr.p. A lady in attendance 
on the Princess of France. LLL. 

Katharine, Princess, dr.p. Daughter to 
Charles VI, King of France. HV. 

Katharine, Queen, dr.p. Wife to Henry 
VIII. HVIII. 

kecksy. The dried stem of hemlock or 
similar plant. HV. V, 2, 52, 

keech. The fat of an ox, rolled up into 
a round lump ; hence the name given 
to a fat person. 2HIV. II, 1, 101; 
HVIII. I, 1, 55. 

keel. According to some, this word 
means to cool ; according to others it 
means to skim. LLL. V, 2, 930. 

keep, n. Custody ; guard. Shr. I, 2, 118. 

keep, V. To restrain ; to control. Gent. 
IV, 4, 11. 

Keisar. Caesar ; emperor. Wiv. I, 8, 9. 

ken, n. Sight ; seeing distance. 2HIV. 
IV, 1, 151 ; 2HVI. Ill, 2, 113. 

ken, V. 1. To descry ; to see. 3HVI. 
Ill, 2, 101. 

2. To know. TroU. IV, 5, 14 ; Wiv. I, 
3,40. 

Kent, Earl of, dr.p. Attendant on King 
Lear. Lr. 



kerne, j or from the Western Isles ; a 
boor. Mcb. I, 2, 13 ; V, 7, 17. 

kettle. A kettle-drum. Hml. V, 2, 286. 

key. A tuning key. Tp. I, 2, 83. 

key=cold. Cold as a key ; stone cold. 
RIII. I, 2, 5. Lucr. 1774. 

kibe. 1. A chilblain. Temp. II, 1, 284. 
2. A chap on the heel. Hml. V, 1, 252 ; 
Wiv. I, 2, 35. 

kick at. To turn away from with loath- 
ing and disgust. Cor. II, 2, 129. This 
expression seems to have again come 
into use in a slangy way. 

kick=shaws. Toys ; trifles ; a made dish. 
2HIV. V, 1, 29 ; Tw. I, 3, 122. A cor- 
ruption of the French quelques choses. 

kicksy=wicksy, j A ludicrous term for 

kicky=wicky. f a wife. AU's. II, 3, 297. 

kill. Kill, kill, kill, was the ancient cry 
of the English troops when they charged 
the enemy. Ven. 652 ; Lr. IV, 6, 191. 

killen. To kill. Per. II, Prol. 20. 

kiln=hole. English coms. explain as the 
ash-hole under a kiln or oven; Schm., 
followed by "Century Dictionary," 
calls it the opening of an oven. Wiv. 
IV, 2, 59; Wint. IV, 4, 247. Harris 
says: "Kiln-hole is pronounced kill- 
hole in the Midland counties, and gener- 
ally means the fire-place used in making 
malt, and is still a noted gossiping 
place." 

kind. This word, as an adjective with 
the usual meanings, occurs very fre- 
quently in Sh., but in the passage, A 
little more than kin and less than kind 
(Hml. I, 2, 64), these meanings do not 
seem to quite fill Hamlet's intention. 
Johnson suggested that the word here 
meant child or son, and this I believe 
to be the correct interpretation of the 
line. The King had just called Hamlet 
his cousin, and then, on second thoughts, 
called him son. Hamlet is at once 
struck with the peculiarity of the King's 
address, and in an aside says : " A little 
more than cousin and less than son, 



KIN 



152 



EIB 



else why did he hesitate." The words 
kin and kind (pronounced kinn''d) being 
used instead of cousin and son for the 
sake of the jingle, as is very common 
in Sh. works, as in Mcb. II, 3, 146 : the 
near in blood, The nearer bloody. 
That Sh. was addicted to these allitera- 
tive jingles, notwithstanding the ridi- 
cule which he throws upon them in 
LLL. IV, 2, 57, is well known to all 
attentive readers of his works. 

Johnson's gloss has not been accepted 
by any prominent com. or actor that I 
know of except Mr. Wilson Barrett, but 
I am confident that it is correct. The 
chief objection that has been made is 
that by Steevens, w^ho claims that the 
word kind is not to be found anywhere 
else with this sense. But to any in- 
telligent student of Sh. this is the feeb- 
lest of all reasons. Sh. cared nothing 
for precedents; he uses many words 
only once and to many words he gives 
special forms and meanings and then 
casts them aside, not to be used again. 
To bolster up the common interpreta- 
tion of the word the coms. have filled 
pages with utterly irrelevant quotations 
from dramatists of the period. See 
kindless and unkind in this glossary 
and " Shakespearean Notes and New 
Readings," page 19. 
kindle. 1. To bring forth young; also 
to be born. Always applied to rabbits, 
hares, cats and similar animals. As. 
Ill, 2, 358. 

2. To inflame; hence, to stimulate; to 
incite. As. I, 1, 179. 
kindless. This word occurs but once in 
all English literature, so far as I have 
been able to find. In Hml. II, 2, 609, 
we find "remorseless, treacherous, 
lecherous, kindless villain. " The usual 
meaning given to the word as here 
found is without affection or kindness; 
unnatural — a weak and ineffective 
meaning considering the strong adjec- 
tives that have preceded it. Some 
years ago I suggested that the word 
meant childless, such a reproach having 
been considered very degrading in the 



early times of all nations. On sub- 
mitting this gloss to the late Edwin 
Booth he made the objection that Ham- 
let was not likely to have "made a 
kick at the old king's sterility." It 
seems to rne that this is just what he 
would have done, for he boasts to 
Ophelia of his own virility. See Hml. 
Ill, 2, 260. The combination of the 
affix less with an adjective is, to say 
the least, unusual. It is almost always 
used with nouns, as childless, homeless, 
ar^mless, etc., etc. See kind. 

kindly, adj. Natural ; in keeping with 
the natural qualities or properties of 
things. Thus, by " the kindly fruits of 
the earth " is meant the natural fruits. 
In As. II, 3, 53, frosty, but kindly means 
suited to his age. In IHVI. Ill, 1, 131, 
the bishop has a kindly gird has re- 
ceived various interpretations. Some 
make it "a rebuke appropriate to the 
occasion;" others explain it as "a 
gentle rebuke;" others again as "a 
reproach in kind. " 

kindly, adv. 1 . Pertinently ; aptly. Rom. 
II, 4, 59. 

2. In a manner suited to the occasion. 
Shr. Ind. I, 66. 

King Edward IV, dr.p. RIII. 

King Henry IV, dr.jo. IHIV. and 2HIV. 

King Henry V, dr.p. HV. 

King Henry VI, dr.p. IHVI., 2HVI. and 
3HVI. 

King Henry VIII, dr.p. HVIII. 

King John, dr.p. John. 

King of France, dr.p. AU's. 

King of France, dr.p. Lr. 

King Richard II, dr.p. RII. 

King Richard III, dr.p. RIII. 

kirtle. "Few words have occasioned 
such controversy among the commen- 
tators on our old plays as this, and all 
for want of knowing that it is used in a 
two-fold sense, sometimes for the jacket 
merely, and sometimes for the train or 
upper petticoat attached to it. A full 
kirtle was always a jacket and petticoat, 
a half -kirtle ^a term which frequently 
occurs) was either the one or the other. " 
Gifford. 



KIS 



153 



KNO 



Under the word half-kirtle Nares tells 
us that it was a common dress of 
courtesans ; it seems to have been a 
short-skirted loose-bodied gown ; but 
not a bed-gown, though it might also 
be worn as such. Pilgr. 363; 3HIV. 
II, 4, 297. 
kiss. No need of a definition, but there 
are two passages that will bear remark. 
In Tw. V, 1, 22, the expression conclu- 
sions to he as kisses, if your /o?tr 
negatives make your two affirma- 
tives, has occasioned some comment. 
Warburton says: "What monstrous 
absurdity have we here ? The Cloivn 
is affecting to argue seriously and in 
form. I imagine the poet wrote, so 
that conclusion to he asked is, i.e., so 
that the conclusion I have to demand 
of you is this, if your four, etc. " Upon 
this, Coleridge remarks : "Surely War- 
burton could never have wooed by 
kisses and won, or he would not have 
flounder-flatted so just and humorous, 
nor less pleasing than humorous an 
image into so profound a nihility. In 
the name of love and wonder, do not 
four kisses make a double affirmative ? 
The humor lies in the whispered ' No ' 
and the inviting 'Don't ! ' with which 
the maiden's kisses are accompanied, 
and thence compared to negatives, 
which by repetition constitute an af- 
firmative." 

The line in Hml. II, 2, 182, heing a 
god-kissing carrion, has drawn forth 
much discussion. Furness fills four 
closely-printed pages with the observa- 
tions of the coms., and then the mean- 
ing is not made clear. In the Folios 
and Quartos it reads good kissing. 
Warburton changed good kissing to 
god-kissing, and has been followed by 
many modern eds. His remarks are 
more in the nature of a sermon than a 
note. It must be borne in mind that in 
all his conversations with Folonius, 
Hamlet apparently seeks to puzzle and 
befog the old man. This probably ac- 
counts for the intricacy of thought and 
expression in the present case. It is easy 



to imagine satisfactory and beautiful ex- 
planations of this passage, but whether 
they embody Sh. ideas or not is another 
question. 

kissing=comfits. Sugar-plums perfumed 
to sweeten the breath. Wiv. V, 5, 
22. 

kitchen, v. To entertain in the kitchen. 
Err. V, 1, 418. 

knap. 1. To break off short. Merch. 
Ill, 1, 10. 
2. To rap. Lr. II, 4, 12.5. 

knave. 1. A boy. Often used without 
implying badness, and frequently as a 
term of endearment. LLL. Ill, 1, 144. 
In Scotch, often used to signify a male, 
as in knave-bairn. 
2. A servant. Lr. II, 2, 144; 0th. I, 

1, 126. In old versions of the New 
Testament "Paul, a servant of Jesus 
Christ," is rendered "a knave of Jesus 
Christ." 

knee. Lend me your knees = aid me in 
my supplication. Meas. V, 1, 436. 

knoll. Sounds ; probably a variant of 
knell. Kins. I, 1. 

knot=grass. A common weed, the Poly- 
gonum avicidare. It is low, straggling 
and having numerous and prominent 
joints, whence the name. It was a 
common superstition that children and 
other young animals fed upon a decoc- 
tion of knot-grass became stunted or 
dwarfed. Some say that the term 
" hindering " applied to it in Mids. Ill, 

2, 329, means that it clogs the plow or 
harrow and thus hinders the workman. 
But the connection in which it occurs 
points to the first interpretation as 
being the true one. Furness suggests 
that "hindering" applies not only to 
knot-grass but to Hermia ; hence it 
becomes in reality, a botanical pun. 

knot=pated. Thick-headed. IHIV. II, 

4, 79. 
knots. Beds or plots in which a garden 

is laid out. RII. Ill, 4, 46. 
know. To acknowledge ; to realize. Mcb. 

II, 2, 73. 
known. Been acquainted with each other. 

Ant. II, 6, 86 ; Cyra. I, 4, 86. 



LA 



154 



LAM 




3 A. 1. An exclamation signifying 
Look ! There now ! Tw. Ill, 4, 
111 ; Wint. II, 8, 50. 
2. Probably a euphemism for 
Lord, and used as a mild form of as- 
severation. Wint. I, 1, 86 ; Hml. IV, 
5, 57. 

3. A musical note in Guido's scale. LLL. 
IV, 2, 102 ; Lr. I, 2, 149. 

laborsome. Elaborate. Hml. I, 2, 59 ; 
Cym. Ill, 4, 167. 

labras. (Spanish.) Lips. Wiv. I, 1, 166. 

lace. To adorn with ; material fastened 
on. Sonn. LXVII, 4 ; Mcb. II, 3, 118 ; 
Cym. II, 2, 22. See mutton. 

lade. To empty ; to drain. 3HVL III, 
2, 139. 

Lady Anne, dr.p. Widow to Edward, 
Prince of Wales, and daughter to Earl 
of Warwick. RIII. 

Lady Capulet, dr.p. Wife to Capulet 
and mother to Juliet. Rom. 

Lady Faulconbridge, dr.p. Mother to 
Robert and Philip Faulconbridge. John. 

Lady Grey, dr.p. Afterwards queen to 
Edward IV. 3HVI.; RIII. 

Lady Macbeth, dr.p. Wife to Macbeth. 
Mcb. 

Lady Macduff, dr.p. 
Mcb. 

Lady Montague, dr.p. Wife to Mon- 
tague. Rom. 

Lady Mortimer, dr.p. Daughter to Glen- 
dower. IHIV. 

Lady Northumberland, dr.p. 2HIV. 

Lady Percy, dr.p. Wife to Hotspur. 
See Percy, Lady. IHIV. 

lady=bird. Staunton claims that this 
term was usually applied to women of 
loose manners, and that the " God for- 
bid " in the nurse's exclamation means, 
" God forbid that such a terra should 
be applied to her." But Dyce sees in 
it only a term of endearment, and that 
the " God forbid " is properly an ellipsis 
of "God forbid that any accident should 
keep her away. ' ' Dyce is most probably 



Wife to Macduff. 



correct. Halliwell, in his "Dictionary 
of Archaic Words," gives ladybird 
with Staunton's meaning, bub there is 
only one instance of such use thus far 
discovered. It does not appear to have 
been in common use in this sense. Rom. 
I, 3, 5. 

lady=smock. The plant cardaniine pra- 
tensis. LLL. V, 2, 903. 

Laertes, dr.p. Son to Polonius. Hml. 

Lafeu, dr.p. An old lord. All's. 

lag, n. The last or lowest class of people. 
Tim. Ill, 6, 90. 

lag, adv. Late ; tardy ; coming short of. 
RIII. II, 1, 90 ; Lr. I, 2, 6. 

Dag, V. To move slowly. RII. I, 3, 214. 

lag=end. The latter end ; the last part. 
IHIV. V, 1, 24 ; HVIII. I, 3, 35. 

laid. Waylaid. The country is laid = 
set on its guard to arrest. 2HVI. IV, 
10, 4. 

lakin. A contraction of lady kin == little 
lady, an endearing term applied to the 
Virgin Mary, and used as a mincing 
oath. Tp. Ill, 3, 1 ; Mids. Ill, 1, 14. 

Lammas=tide. The first of August in 
the old calendar ; now the twelfth. So- 
called from the Anglo-saxon hlaf-moesse 
= loaf -mass or bread-mass, because on 
this day the first fruits of the harvest 
were offered at mass. In Scotland and 
the North of England this is the time 
when the lambs are sold, and numerous 
fairs, known as "Lammas Fairs," are 
held in different parts of the country. 
Hence, some have erroneously derived 
the name from lamb. 

Lamond. In the Fl. Lamound. It has 
been suggested that Sir W. Raleigh 
was the original of this character, but 
without good grounds. Mr. C. E. 
Brown thinks that it is an allusion to 
Pietro Monte, a famous cavalier and 
swordsman, who is mentioned by Cas- 
tiglione as the instructor of Louis the 
Seventh's Master of Horse. 

lampass. A disease which affects the 



LAN 



155 



LAU 



mouths of horses. Shr. Ill, 2, 53. 
" The bars [of the palate] occasionally 
swell, and rise to a level with, and even 
beyond, the edge of the teeth. They 
are very sore, and the horse feels badly 
on account of the pain he suffers from 
the pressure of the food on them. This 
is called the Lampas.'''' Youatt. 

Lancaster, Duke of, dr.p. Uncle to 
Richard II. RII. 

Lancaster, Prince John of, dr.p. Son 
to Henry IV. IHIV. and 2HIV. 

lances. Lancers ; men armed with lances. 
LLL. V, 2, 650 ; Lr. V, 3, 50. 

land. Lawn. Tp. IV, 1, 130 ; LLL. V, 
2, 310. 

land=carrack. See carrack. 

land=damn. A word of which the mean- 
ing is entirely conjectural. It occurs 
but once in Sh., and certainly means to 
inflict extreme punishment, but what 
or how we know not. Wint. II, 1, 143. 

land=raker. A vagabond. IHIV. II, 1, 81. 

lank, V. To shrink ; to become lank. 
Ant. I, 4, 71. 

lantern, | A louvre; a window-turret. 

lanthorn. f Rom. V, 3, 84. 

lap. To wrap up. Mcb. I, 2, 55 ; Cym. 
V, 5, 361. 

lapwing. A bird ; the Vanellus crista- 
tus ; called also the peewit or peewee 
from its cry. It is about as large as a 
pigeon, and is familiar to every one 
who has had occasion to cross waste 
lands in Great Britain. Like some 
other ground-nesting birds it has a habit 
of luring intruders away from its nest 
by fluttering along the ground as if it 
were w^ounded or had a broken wing, 
and in this way enticing the would-be 
capturer to a distance, when it suddenly 
takes flight and regains its nest by a 
circuitous route. This habit of decep- 
tion has made the lapwing a symbol of 
insincerity, and has given rise to the 
proverb : " The lapwing cries most far- 
thest from her nest." Ray's "Prov- 
erbs." Ado. Ill, 1, 25 ; Err. IV, 2, 27. 
Another characteristic which the lap- 
wing shares with some other ground- 
nesting birds is that the young are so 



forward that the moment the shell 
is hatched the young -are able to 
run about, and often do so with 
part of the shell adhering to their 
bodies. Most writers speak of the shell 
adhering to the head, but this I have 
never seen ; but even the newly-hatched 
chickens of common barn-door fowl 
are often seen carrying portions of the 
shell on their backs. Hml. V, 2, 193. 

lapsed, p.p. Surprised ; taken ; appre- 
hended. Tw. Ill, 3, .36 ; Hml. Ill, 4, 107. 

lard. To ornament. Hml. IV, 5, 38. 

large. Unrestrained ; free ; licentious. 
Mcb. Ill, 4, 11 ; Ado. II, 3, 206; Rom. 

II, 4, 102. 

largess. Donation ; bounty. Mcb. II, 
1, 14. 

lark. The European sky-lark, famed for 
its song while soaring in the heavens. 
Cym. II, 3, 21 ; Rom. Ill, 5, 31. " The 
toad having very fine eyes and the lark 
very ugly ones, was the occasion of a 
common saying among the people that 
the toad ayid lark had changed eyes.''^ 
Warburton. 

laroon. A thief. (French, larron.) Wiv. 
I, 4, 71. 

lass=lorn. Forsaken by his mistress or 
sweetheart. Tp. IV, 1, 68. 

latch. 1. To catch ; to lay hold of . Mcb. 
IV, 3, 195. 

2. To anoint ; to besmear. Mids. Ill, 2, 
36. Schm. doubts the propriety of this 
definition of the word, but there seems 
to be good authority for it. 

lated, p.p. Belated ; benighted. Mcb. 

III, 3, 6 ; Ant. Ill, 11, 30. 

lath. A wooden sword used by clowns ; 
hence, a contemptuous term for a sword 
in the hands of a wealding. Tit. II, 1, 41. 

latten. A coarse kind of brass ; a metal 
incapable of taking a fine temper or 
holding a keen edge. Wiv. I, 1, 165. 

Launce, dr.p. Servant to Proteus. Gent. 

Launcelot Qobbo, dr.p. Servant to Shy- 
lock. Merch. 

laund. A glade or open space in the 
woods. The old form of lawn. 3HVI, 
III, 1, 2 ; Kins. Ill, 1. 

launder. To wash. Compl. 17. 



LATT 



156 



L'EN 



Laurence, Friar, dr. p. A Franciscan. 
Rom. 

Lavache, dr.p. A clown. All's. 

Lavinia, dr.p. Daughter to Titus An- 
dronicus. Tit. 

lavolta. A dance consisting chiefly in 
high bounds and whirls. Troil. IV, 4, 88. 

Iaw=day. A court day ; a day on which 
the judges sit to administer justice. 
0th. Ill, 3, 140. 

lay. A wager. 0th. II, 3, 330 ; Gym. 1, 4, 59. 

leading. The power of leading ; general- 
ship. IHIV. IV, 3, 17. 

leaguer. A camp ; generally used to 
signify the camp of the assailants in a 
siege. All's. Ill, 6, 27. 

Leander. A youth of Abydos who was 
in lo\e with Hero, the priestess of 
Venus in Sestus. Guided by a lamp 
displayed by Hero, he swam across the 
Hellespont every night to meet her and 
returned before daybreak. One stormy 
night his strength was unequal to the 
task and he was drowned. JStext morn- 
ing his body was cast up on the shore 
of Sestus, whereupon Hero cast herself 
into the sea and perished. The story 
of Hero and Leander is alluded to 
several times in Sh. Gent. Ill, 1, 117 ; 
Rom. II, 4, 44 ; As. IV, 1, 100. 

Lear, (ir.p. King of Great Britain. Lr. 

learn. To teach. Tp. I, 2, 365; Ado. 
IV, 1, 31 ; RII. IV, 1, 120. A use of 
the word which is now regarded as in- 
correct. 

leash. A set of three, from the string 
or thong for leading greyhounds, to 
which usually three dogs were attached. 
The leash of drawers are Tom, Dick 
and Francis, who have just been named. 

. IHIV. II, 4, 7. 

leasing. Lying. Tw, I, 5, 105 ; Cor. V, 

leather=coats. The apples generally 

known as golden russets or russetings. 

2HIV. V, 3, 44. 
leave, n. License; licentiousness. Ven. 

568 ; 3HVI. Ill, 2, 34. 
leave, v. 1. To part with. Hml. Ill, 4, 91. 
2. To desist from: to leave off. Gent. 

II, 6, 17 ; Merch. V, 1, 43. 



Le Beau, dr.p. A courtier. As. 

Leda. The daughter of Thestius and wife 
of Tyndareus. She was a very beauti- 
ful woman, and Jupiter fell in love 
with her. In order to gain access to 
her he transformed himself into a swan. 
Wiv. V, 5, 7. The accounts given by 
the ancient writers of the paternity of 
her children are very much confused. 
She was the mother of Castor and 
Pollux and other children, including the 
famous Helen, the wife of Menelaus and 
the cause of the Fall of Troy. 

leech. A physician. Tim. V, 4, 84. 

leer. 1. An amorous and smiling look. 
Wiv. I, 3, 50. 

2. Complexion; color. As. IV, 1, 67; 
Tit. IV, 2, 119. 

leese. To loose. Sonn. V, 14. 

leet. A manor court or private juris- 
diction for petty offences ; also a day on 
which such court is held. Nares. Shr. 
Ind. II, 89 ; 0th. III. 3, 140. See sealed. 

leg. A bow ; an obeisance. Cor. II, 1, 
78 ; Tim. I, 2, 241. 

lege. To allege. Shr. I, 2, 28. 

leiger, ) Ambassador or messenger. 

leidger. ) Meas. Ill, 1, 59 ; Cym. I, 5, 80. 
See also lieger. 

legerity. Lightness; nimbleness. HV. 
IV, 1, 23. 

legs. As proper a man as ever went on 
four legs. Tp, II, 2, 62. The usual 
form of the proverb is : " As proper a 
man as ever went on two legs," but 
Stephano, seeing four legs sticking out 
from under one gaberdine, thinks this 
a man with four legs and alters the 
proverb to suit. See neaVs-leather. 

leman. A lover ; a paramour (either 
masculine or feminine). Wiv. IV, 2, 
172 ; Tw. II, 3, 26. 

Lennox, dr.p. A Scottish nobleman. 
Mcb. 

Leonardo, dr.p. Servant to Bassanio. 
Merch. 

lenten. Spare (like the fare in Lent). 
Tw. I, 5, 9 ; Hml. II, 2, 329. 

I'envoy. A technical term (old French) 
signifying a sort of postscript ; a fare- 
well or moral at the end of a poem or 



LET 



157 



LIM 



prose piece. LLL. Ill, ], 72, 73, etc. 
The expression the Venvoy, fouud in 
lines 88 and 89, is rather awkward as 
using both the English and French 
articles together before the same noun, 
P He) being the French for the. But 
this form was and still is in common 
use. 

let, n. A hindrance. HV. V, 2, 65. 

let, V. To hinder. Gent. Ill, 1, 113; 
Hml. I, 4, 86. 

lethe. 1. A river in Hades whose waters 
were said to have the property of 
causing those who drank of them or 
bathed in them to forget everj^thing 
that had occurred in their past lives. 
Hml. I, 5, 33 ; Tw. IV, 1, 66 ; 2HIV. V, 
2, 72. 
2. Death. Caes. Ill, 1, 206. 

level, 71. The direction of an aim. All's. 
11, 1, 159 ; HVIII. I, 2, 2. 

level, V. To aim, RIII. IV, 4, 202; 
Merch. I, 2, 41 ; Ant. V, 2, 339. 

lets. Hindrances. Kins. Ill, 5. 

Lepnato, clr.jy. Governor of Messina. 
Ado. 

Leonatus Posthumus, dr.p. Husband 
to Imogen. Cym. 

Leonine, dr.p. Servant to Dionyza. Per. 

Leontes, dr.j). King of Sicilia. TVint. 

Lepidus, Marcus ^milius, dr.p. A tri- 
umvir. Ant. 

lewdly. Wickedly ; badly. 2HVI. II, 1, 
167. 

lewdster. A libertine. Wiv. V, 3, 23. 

libbard. A leopard. LLL. V, 2, 551. 
"The knee-caps in old dresses and in 
plate-armour frequently represented a 
libbard's (i.e., a leopard's) head." Dyee. 

liberal. Licentious ; wanton. Ado. IV, 

1, 93; Hml. IV, 7, 171; 0th. II, 1, 165. 
liberty. Freedom from rules. Hml. II, 

2, 421. This passage has given rise to a 
great deal of conjecture. See tvrit. 

license. Licentiousness. Meas. Ill, 2, 216. 

Lie has. He was the attendant or servant 
of Hercules and was sent by the latter 
to his wife, Deianira, for a robe suitable 
for him to wear while offering a sacri- 
fice to Jupiter. Deianira sent a garment 
steeped in the blood of Nessus, and as 



soon as it had grown warm on the body 
of Hercules, the latter suffered the 
most excruciatmg tortures. Maddened 
by the pain which he endured, he threw 
his faithful servant, Lichas, into the 
sea. Merch. II, 1, 33; Ant. IV, 12, 45. 

lictors. Officers who attended the magis- 
trates in ancient Rome, clearing the 
way and performing other duties. Ant. 
V, 2, 214. 

lie. To dwell; to abide. Gent. IV, 2, 
137; Shr. IV, 4, 56 ; Tw. Ill, 1, 8. 

liefest. Best beloved. 2HVI. Ill, 1, 164. 

lifter. A thief. Troil. I, 2, 129. (Punning.) 

lieger. An ambassador. Cym. I, 5, SO. 
"A lieger ambassador is one that 
resides in a foreign court to promote 
his master's interests. " Johnson. 

Ug. To rest; to lie. HV. Ill, 2, 125. 
Sh. puts this word in the mouth of the 
Scottish captain, Jamy, as a Scotticism, 
It is old English and is used by Spencer 
and Chaucer. As a dialect word it is 
used to-day in the North of England 
more than in Scotland. See Tennyson's 
' ' Northern Farmer. ' ' 

Ligarius, dr.p. A Roman conspirator. 
Cses. 

liggens. Shallow's oath, by God''s liggens. 
2HIV. V, 3, 69. 

Said to be manufactured for Shallow, 
but this is doubtful. 

lightly. Usually ; commonly. RIII. Ill, 
1, 94, Nares. 

light=o'=love. " An old tune of a dance, 
the name of which made it a proverbial 
expression of levity, especially in love 
matters. Sir John Hawkins recovered 
the original tune from an old MS. , and 
it is inserted in the notes to Much Ado 
About Nothing.'''' Nares. The music 
and some of the words may be found in 
the New Variorum Ed. of Ado., by Dr. 
Furness, page 181. 

Limander. Bottom's blunder for Leander. 
q.v. Mids. V, 1, 198. 

limbeck. An alembec; a still. Sonn. 
CXIX, 2 ; Mcb. I, 7, 67. 

limber. Easily set aside. Wint. I, 3, 47. 

limb=meal. Limb by limb. Cym. II, 4, 
147. See inch-meal. 



LIM 



158 



LIV 



limbo (limbus). 1. The bwrders of hell or 
hell itself ; usually supposed to be a 
region outside of hell where those who 
have not received the grace of Christ, 
while living, and yet are not actually 
condemned, have their abode. Limbus 
patruyn, a prison on the outer circle of 
hell where are confined those righteous 
who died before the coming of Christ. 
2. A cant expression for prison. Err. 
IV, 2, 32 ; HVIII. V, 4, 67. 

Lincoln, Bishop of, dr. p. HVIII. 

lime, n. 1. A well-known substance of 
which mortar is made. It is strongly 
alkaline and was frequently added to 
wine and beer to correct acidity. IHIV. 

II, 4, 137. 

2. Bird-lime; a sticky substance used 

for catching birds. Tp. IV, 1, 246 ; 

Gent. Ill, 2, 68 ; Mcb. IV, 2, 34. 

lime, V. 1. To smear with bird-lime. 

2HVI. 1,3, 91; Tw. Ill, 4, 82; Hml. 

III, 3, 68. 

2. To add lime to wine to correct its 

acidity. Wiv. I, 3, 15. 
limit. To appoint. Meas. IV, 2, 175 ; 

Mcb. II, 3, 58. 
limn. To draw ; to paint. As. II, 7, 

194. 
line. 1. To draw ; to delineate. As. Ill, 

2,97. 

2. To pad ; to stuff. Tim. IV, 1, 14. 

3. To bribe. Cym. II, 3, 72. 

4. To fortify ; to strengthen. John II, 
1, 352 ; IHIV. II, 3, 86; Mcb. I, 3, 112. 

line=grove. Supposed to be a misprint 
for lime-grove. Tp. V, 1, 10. 

ling. 1, A fish {molva vulgaris) which 
is extensively used as food in a salted 
and dried condition like codfish. This 
is probably what the clown means in 
All's. Ill, 2, 14. " The clown probably 
uses ling for meagre food in general, 
as he uses Isbels for waiting- women 
generally." Cowden Clarke. 
2. The name is also applied to moorland 
plants — heather, broom, etc., and Dyce 
and some others claim that the word 
"long"inTp. I, 1,70 should be "ling." 

lining. Padding ; stuffing ; something to 
fill out. LLL.' V, 2, 791, 



link. A torch. Shr. IV, 1, 137. It 
was a common trick to color or 
blacken old hats by holding them over 
the smoky flame of a pitch torch. In 
Mihil Mumchance (wrongly attributed 
by Steevens to Greene) we read : "This 
cozenage is used, likewise, in selling old 
hats found upon dung-hills, instead of 
newe, blackt over with the smoake of 
an old linke." 

linsey=woolsey. Cloth made of flax and 
wool ; hence a mixture of ill-assorted 
things ; a farago. All's. IV, 1, 13. 

linstock. " A curved stick with a cock 
at one end to hold a gunner's match, 
and a sharp point at the other to stick 
it upright in the ground." "Kersey's 
Dictionary." The old means of firing 
a cannon. HV. Ill, chor. 33. 

Lion. A character in the interlude. Mids. 

lip, V. To kiss. 0th. IV, 1, 72. 

Lipsbury pinfold. The location of Lips- 
bury has never been found out. Capell 
says: "This we may know, and with 
certainty, that it was some village or 
other famed for boxing ; that the boxers 
fought in a ring or enclosed circle and 
that this ring was called ' Lipsbury 
pinfold.'" Nares thought it might 
"mean the teeth as being the pinfold 
within the lips." Collier's MS. gives 
"Finsbury," and Jennen's suggests 
"Ledbury." Kent evidently meant a 
place or enclosure where he could thrash 
Oswald without fear of interruption. 
Lr. II, 2, 9. 

list. Boundary ; enclosure. Meas. I, 1, 6 ; 
Hml. IV, 5, 99. 

lither. Soft ; pliant. IHVI. IV, 7, 21. 
litigious. Doubtful ; precarious. Per. 

III, 3, 3. 

littered. Born ; a term generally applied 
to puppies and kittens, but used by 
Autolycus in regard to himself. Wint. . 

IV, 3, 25. 

livelihood. Semblance of life. AU's. I, 
1, 58. 

livery. A law phrase, signifying the act 
of delivering a freehold into the posses- 
sion of the heir or purchaser. RII. II, 
3, 129 ; IHIV. IV, 3, 62. 



IIV 



159 



LOR 



living. Active ; present ; convincing. 
0th. Ill, 3, 409. 

lizard. The common gray lizard of 
England is the Lacerta agilis, a slender 
animal with four legs and a long tail. 
In Shakespeare's time it was a general 
belief that the harmless little lizard 
was armed with a venomous little sting 
(2HVI. Ill, 2, 325), and the same idea 
is quite common even at the present 
time. This was probably the reason 
why the lizard and a very similar-look- 
ing, though radically different, animal, 
the newt, formed an ingredient in the 
broth of witches. It is needless to say 
that the lizard is quite harmless and, 
indeed, forms a very pretty and inter- 
esting pet. Like the chameleon it lives 
wholly upon insects. See newt. 

loach. A kind of fish. IHIV. II, 1, 23. 
The comparison here has drawn forth 
much comment from Sh. editors, but 
without satisfactory results. See haivk. 

lob, n. A lout ; something large or thick. 
Thou lob of spirits. Mids. II, 1, 16, 
Johnson correctly says that the word 
indicates inactivity of body and dulness 
of mind. Dyce says that as Puck could 
fly ' ' swifter than arrow from the Tar- 
tar's bow," and could "put a girdle 
round about the earth in forty minutes, ' ' 
the Fairy could hardly mean, as Mr. 
Collier supposes, "to reproach Puck 
with heaviness." This is all well enough 
for a man to say, because even a Verne 
did not suggest that he could do it in 
less than eighty days. But light would 
go round the world while Puck was 
making a couple of flaps with his wings, 
and electricity in still less time. If the 
fairy could have done it in forty seconds 
she might well call Puck a slow, loutish 
creature. That the word indicates large 
size is seen in the name lob-worm 
given to a large, slow-moving kind 
of earth-worm often used by anglers 
for bait. 

lob, V. To hang down in a wearied and 
sluggish manner. HV. IV, 2, 47. 

lockram. A cheap kind of linen. Cor. 
II, 1, 225. So called from Locrenan, 



the place in Brittany where it was 
made. 

locusts. Undoubtedly the fruit (long 
pods) of the carob tree (ceratonia siliqua) 
and not insects. 0th. I, 3, 354. These 
pods, when in good condition, are quite 
sweet. They are known as " John the 
Baptist's bread." 

lodestar. The leading star ; the pole 
star. Lucr. 179 ; Mids, I, 1, 183. 

Lodovico, dr.j). Kinsman to Brabantio. 
Merch. 

lodged. Growing grain is said to be 
lodged when it is laid flat by wind and 
rain. RII. Ill, 3, 162 ; Mcb. IV, 1, 55. 
See bladed. 

loffe. To laugh. Mids. II, 1, 55. 

loggats. A popular game in which small 
logs are thrown at a stake fixed in the 
ground. Hml. V, 1, 100. Hanmer, 
Capell and most of the small glossaries 
make it the same as nine-pins, but 
Nares shows that this is a mistake. 

loggerhead. A blockhead ; a dolt. LLL. 

IV, 3, 204; IHIV. 11,4,4. 

long. To belong. Meas. II, 2, 59 ; HV. 

II, 4, 80 ; Per. II, Intro. 40. 
Longaville, dr.p. A lord attendant on 

the King of Navarre. LLL. 
longly. Fondly ; lovingly. Shr. 1, 1, 170. 
long of. On account of ; because of. Mids. 

III, 2, 339 ; Cym. V, 5, 272. 
Iong=staff sixpenny strikers. Fellows 

that infest the road with long staves and 

rob men of sixpences. IHIV. II, 1, 82. 
Longsword, William, dr.p. Earl of 

Salisbury. John. 
loof. To luff ; to bring close to the wind. 

Ant. Ill, 10, 18. 
loon. A low contemptible feUow. Mcb. 

V, 3, 11. 

looped. Full of holes. Lr. Ill, 4, 31. 

loose, V. To discharge an arrow. HVIIL 
V, 4, 60. 

loose, >i. The discharge of an arrow. 
LLL. V, 2, 750. 

Lord, A, dr.p. A character in the Induc- 
tion. Shr. 

Lord Abergavenny, dr.p. HVIIL 

Lord Bardolph, dr.p. An enemy to the 
king. 2HIV. 



LOR 



160 



LUC 



Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 
dr.p. 3HIV. 

Lord Clifford, dr.p. A Lancastrian. 
2HVI. and 3HVI. 

Lord Fitzwater, dr.p. RII. 

Lord Grey, dr.p. Son to Lady Grey. 
RIII. 

Lord Hastings, dr.iJ. 2HIV., 3HVI. and 
RIII. 

Lord Lovel, dr.p. RIII. See Lovel. 

Lord Mowbray, dr.p. An enemy to the 
king. 2HIV. 

Lord Rivers, dr.p. Brother to Lady 
Grey. 3HVI. 

Lord Ross, dr.p. RII. 

Lord Sands, dr.p. HVIII. 

Lord Say, dr.p. 2HVI. 

Lord Scales, dr.p. Governor of the 
Tower. 2HVI. 

Lord Scroop, dr.p. An enemy to the 
king. HV. 

Lord Stafford, dr.p, A Yorkist. 3HVI. 

Lord Stanley, dr.p. RIII. 

Lord Talbot, dr.p. Afterwards Earl of 
Shrewsbury. IHVI. 

Lord Willoughby, dr.p. RII. 

"Lord have mercy on us.' The in- 
scription which used to be placed on 
the doors of houses visited by the plague 
to warn persons not to approach them. 
LLL. V, 2, 419. 

Lord's tokens. Plague spots. It was 
supposed that when these appeared 
there was no hope of recovery. LLL. 
V, 2, 424. 

Lorenzo, dr.p. The lover of Jessica. 
Merch. 

lots to blanks. Very great odds. Cor. 
V, 2, 10. 

lottery. A prize; that which falls to 
one's share by lot. Ant. II, 2, 248. 

Louis, dr.p. The Dauphin of France. John. 

Louis, cZr .p. The Dauphin of France. HV. 

Louis XI, dr.p. King of France. 3HVI. 

lout, ) n. An awkward, foolish fellow ; 

lowt, ) a bumpkin. Gent. IV, 4, 71 ; 
Wint. I, S, 301 ; Gym. V, 2, 9. 

lout, ) V. To make a fool of. IHVI. 

lowt, \ IV, 3, 13. 

love=day. A day for the amicable settle- 
ment of differences. Tit. I, 1, 4. 



Lovel, Lord, dr.p. A friend to Richard 
III. 

This was Francis, Lord Lovell and 
Holland, who is referred to in the 
famous lines quoted ante under Catesby. 
He escaped from the battle of Bosworth 
and reached Flanders and Burgundy, 
whence he returned with two thousand 
men to support the impostor Lambert 
Simnel. Some say that he was slain at 
the battle of Stoke ; others, that he es- 
caped and found refuge in a secret 
vault in his old home. In 1708 there 
was found in this vault a skeleton, with 
remnants of jars, etc. It is supposed 
that the skeleton was his and that he 
had eventually starved to death. 

Lovell, Sir Thomas, dr.p. HVIII. 

loves. Of all loves = for love's sake, i.e., 
for the sake of the love between us. 
Wiv. II, 2, 119 ; Mids. II, 2, 154. In 
0th. Ill, 1, 13 the Fl. and most modern 
eds. read for love''s sake ; the Quarto 
reads of all loves. 

love=in=idleness. The pansy or heart's- 
ease — viola tricolor. Mids. II, 1, 168 ; 
Shr. I, 1, 156. 

lown. A base feUow. 0th. II, 3, 96; 
Per. IV, 6, 19. Same as loon. 

lozel. A faint-hearted, cowardly, worth- 
less feUow. Wint. II, 3, 109. 

lubber. A heavy, inactive fellow. Gent. 
II, 5, 47 ; Tw. IV, 1, 14 ; Troil. Ill, 3, 
139. Mrs. Quickly uses Lubber's head 
for Libbard's head in 2HIV. II, 1, 30. 

luce. A British fish, very similar in ap- 
pearance and habits to the American 
pickerel. It is called a jack when small, 
a pike when in its middle stage, and a 
luce or lucie when full grown. Sir 
Thomas Lucy, the poet's old enemy, 
bore three luces in his coat of arms. 
Slender increases them to a dozen, and 
Evaus, seeming to understand the word 
according to his own pronunciation, 
calls them "louses;" the word louse 
in old English, Scottish, and some 
English dialects being pronounced loos 
or luce. He therefore remarks that a 
dozen white louses do become an old 
coat well, that it is a familiar beast to 



LUC 



161 



LUC 



man and signities love, because, as 
Boswell says, "it does not desert man 
in distress. " Some have detected a pun 
in the "salt fish" and the "luce salt- 
ant " (leaping) ; but the proper word for 
that, in the case of fish, is haurient. 
But then we must not look for accuracy 
at the hands of Shallow. Commenting 
on this passage, Verplanck says : "The 
English commentators have been much 
perplexed here, and pronounce the 
passage 'an heraldic puzzle.' Did not 
Shakespeare merely intend to ridicule 
the pedantry of heraldry so common 
in his days, and doubtless, like all other 
pedantry, often blundering?" Wiv. 
I, 1, 16 ; and see prick. 

It has been suggested that Sh. 
found a hint for the speeches of 
Slender, Shallow and Evans in Hollin- 
shed's "Chronicles of Ireland." This 
is quite possible, for Sh, would seize 
upon any facts or even forms of expres- 
sion that suited his purpose, no matter 
where they came from. To such an 
extent is this true that somebody gave 
him the sobriquet of " The Great War- 
wickshire Thief. ' ' The passage in ques- 
tion reads as follows : " Having lent 
the king his signet to seal a letter, who 
having powdered erinuts ingrailed in 
the seal ; ' Why, how now, Yf ise, ' quoth 
the king, ' what, hast thou lice here ? ' 
'And if it like, your majesty,' quoth 
Sir William, ' a louse is a rich coat, for 
by giving the louse I part arms wdth 
the French king, in that he giveth the 
flower de lice.' Whereat the king 
heartily laughed to hear how prettily 
so biting a taunt was suddenly turned 
to so pleasant a conceit." 

In view of this passage, Schm. sug- 
gests that the luce of Slender and 
Shallow maybe the "flower-de-luce!" 
No one can read the line I, 1, 22 in- 
telligently and adopt Schm. idea. 

Luce, dr. p. Servant to Adriana. Err. 

Lucentio, dr.p. Son to Vicentio. Shr. 

Lucetta, dr.p. Waiting-woman to Julia. 
Gent. 

Luciana, dr.p. Sister to Adriana. Err. 



Lucifer. Satan. Wiv. 1, 3, 84; 2Hiv'. 
II, 4, 360 ; HV. IV, 7, 145. The name 
literally means the light-bringer, hence 
its application to the common lucif er or 
light-bringing match. The poets claim 
that before his fall Satan was called 
Lucifer, and in the authorized version 
of the Bible (Isaiah xiv, 12) the name is 
applied to Nebuchadnezzar, King of 
Babylon. It is to this passage, doubt- 
less, that Sh. makes Wolsey refer in his 
speech (HVIII. Ill, 2, 371) : And when 
he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never 
to hope again. 

Lucilius, dr.p. A friend to Brutus and 
Cassius. Caes. 

Lucilius, dr.p. Servant to Timon. Tim. 

Luc in a. The Roman goddess, who pre- 
sided over the birth of children. Her 
name is derived from the Latin word 
lux, light, because she brings children 
into the light. Cym. V, 4, 43. 

Lucio, dr.p. A fantastic. Meas. 

Lucius, dr.p. A lord, flatterer of Timon. 
Tim. 

Lucius, dr.p. A servant. Tim. 

Lucius, dr.p. Servant to Brutus. Caes. 

Lucius, dr.p. Son to Titus. Tit. 

Lucius, Cains, dr.p. General of the 
Roman forces. Cym. 

lucky days. In Sh. time great attention 
was paid to this surperstitious fancy, 
and se\ eral allusions to it are found in 
the plays. Thus, in Wint. Ill, 3, 142, 
the shepherd says to the clown : ' Tis a 
lucky day, boy; and we'' II do good 
deeds o^Vt. In the old almanacs the 
days supposed to be favorable or un- 
favorable are enumerated, allusion to 
which occurs in Webster's Duchess of 
Malfy (1623) : 
By the almanac, I think, 
To choose good days and shun the 
critical. 
This was no doubt the controlling idea 
of the speakers in John HI, 1, 86 and 
Mcb. IV, 1, 134. Even at this day the 
superstition has a deep hold on the 
popular mind, e.g., the widespread feel- 
ing that it is unlucky to begin any im- 
portant undertaking on Friday. 



LUC 



162 



LXJR 



Lucullus, dr.p. A lord, flatterer of 

Timon. Tim, 
Lucy, Sir William, dr.p. IHVI. 
Lud's=Town. The ancient name of Lon- 
don. Cym. Ill, 1, 32. " Trinovantum, 
called Caer Lud, and by corruption of 
the word Caer London, and in process 
of time London, was rebuilt by Lud, 
Cassibelan's elder brother. ' ' Grey. 
lug. To drag ; to pull. Tim. IV, 3, 31 ; 
Hml, III, 4, 212. Lxig is also an old 
word for the ear — whether of an animal 
or the projection on some inanimate 
object like a jug or pail. Hence, lugged 
signifies not only dragged but eared. 
Thus a lugged bear (IHIV. I, 2, 83) has 
been held by many coms. to mean a 
bear whose ears had been pulled by 
dogs. Others as one that was merely 
lugged or dragged through the streets. 
Lugged seems also to have signified 
gelded, and a lugged^ bear has been ex- 
plained as a gelded bear (see "Century 
Dictionary"), a doubtful gloss, as we 
have no evidence that bears were ever 
gelded. 
lumpish. Heavy; dull; spiritless. Gent. 

Ill, 2, 62. 
lunes. Mad freaks ; fits of lunacy. Wint. 
II, 2, 30. Also in modern editions of 
Wiv. IV, 2, 22, and Troil. II, 3, 139, 
lunes has been substituted for lines. 
Lupercal, The Feast of. "The Roman 
festival of the Lujoercalia {-uim or 
-ioriwn), whatever may be the etymology 
of the name, was in honor of the god 
Pan. It was celebrated annually on the 
Ides (or 13th) [15th?] of February, in a 
place called the Lupercal at the foot of 
Mount Aventine. A third company 
of Luperci, or priests of Pan, with 
Antony for its chief, was instituted in 
honor of Julius Caesar. " Craik. 

It is a tradition that the grotto near 
the western angle of the Palatine Hill 
in ancient Rome was the den of the she- 
wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus. 
Near it was the Ficus Ruminalis, the 
fig-tree beneath which Romulus and 
Remus were left by the retiring waters 
of the Tiber. 



The Luperci assembled on the day of 
the Lupercalia, and to the god they 
sacrificed goats and young dogs as ap- 
propriate sacrifices to Lupercus, the 
god of fertility. After the sacrifice 
was over, the Luperci partook of a meal, 
at which fliey were plentifully supplied 
with wine. They then cut the skins of 
the goats which they had sacrificed into 
pieces, with some of which they covered 
parts of their body in imitation of the 
god Lupercus, who was represented 
half -naked and half -covered with goat- 
skin. The other pieces of the skins 
they cut into thongs, and holding them 
in their hands they ran through the 
streets of the city, touching or striking 
with them all persons whom they met 
in their way, and especially women, who 
even used to come forward voluntarily 
for the purpose, since they believed that 
this ceremony rendered them fruitful. 
Cses. I, 1, 72, and III, 2, 100. 
lurch. 1. To filch ; to steal. Wiv. II, 
2,26, 

Schm. defines this word as "to lurk," 
and lurk is defined as "to lie hidden 
and in wait. " So also Skeat. But Cot- 
grave in defining the word Fortraire 
explains it as " to lurch ; to purloyne ; 
withdraw from," And it would seem 
on a careful reading of Falstaff' s words 
that this is the meaning here. Ben 
Jonson in The Silent Woman has: 
" You have lurched your friends of the 
better half of the garland by concealing 
this part of the plot." 
2. As it occurs in Cor. II, 2, 105, He 
lurched all swords of the garland, 
Skeat, followed by Schin. , defines it as 
to "pilfer, steal, rob, plunder." But 
surely not to pilfer or steal in the brunt 
of seventeen battles. The meaning, of 
course, is evident, and as Malone puts 
it : "To ' lurch all swords of the gar- 
. land ' was to gain from all other warriors 
the wreath of victory with ease and in- 
contestable superiority," The expres- 
sion in this case is probably from an 
old game mentioned by Cotgrave and 
called "Lurche," and "a lurch" was 



LTJR 



163 



LYC 



the term used in this game when one 
person gained every point before an- 
other made one. 

lure. A figure stuffed to resemble a bird 
and used by falconers to allure the 
hawk. Shr. IV, 1, 195. 

luscious. In 0th. I, 3, 354, this word 
evidently has the usual meaning — sweet 
to excess. As it occurs in Mids. II, 1, 
251, it may have the same meaning 
applied to the sense of smell. Thus 
Drayton, in his " Polyolbion," has : 
The azur'd Hare-bell next, with them, 

they neatly mixt ; 
To allay whose lushious smell, they 

Woodbine placet betwixt. 
But some give it the sense of lush, q.v. , 
and Theobald changed it from luscious, 
as in the Fl., to lush. Of this Johnson 
tells us : " On the margin of one of my 
folios an unknown hand has written 
lush Woodbine, which I think is right. " 
And Ritson says: '"'' Lush is clearly 
preferable in point of sense and ab- 
solutely necessary in point of metre." 
In regard to the latter point Furness 
notes : " It can be no disgrace to accept 
this line as an Alexandrine : 
Quite 6 I ver can | oped | with lils | - 
ciotis I woodbine, 
where the resolved syllables of ' lus-ci- 
ous ' need not be harshly nor strongly 
emphasised." 

lush. Juicy; succulent; fresh. Tp. II, 
1,52. 

lust. 1. Desire; wish. Troil. IV, 4, 134. 
2. Pleasure; delight. Lucr. 1,384; Tim. 
IV, 3, 492. 

lustig {lustique in the Fl). Lusty ; cheer- 
ful. All's. II, 3, 45. This word occurs 
frequently in old plays. Capell notes 
that "An old play, that has a great deal 
of merit, called The Weakest goeth to 
the Wall (printed in 1600 ; but how much 
earlier written, or by whom written, 
we are no where informed), has in it a 
Dutchman called Jacob Van Smelt, who 
speaks a jargon of Dutch and our 
language, and upon several occasions 
uses this very word, which in English 
is lusty." 



lustihood. Vigor ; energy ; high animal 
spirits. Ado. V, 1, 76. Reason and 
respect tnake livers paZe and lustihood 
deject. Troil. II, 2, 50. The liver was 
supposed to be the seat of courage and 
energy. 

luxurious. Lustful ; unchaste. Ado. IV, 
1, 42 ; HV. IV, 4, 20. 

luxury. Lust ; lasciviousness. Meas. V, 
1, 506; Hml. I, 5, 83; Lr. IV, 6, 119. 
This is the only sense in which this 
word is used by Shakespeare. 

Lychorida, dr. p. Nurse to Marina. Per. 

Lycurgus. The famous legislator of 
Sparta. Referred to in Cor. II, 1, 60. 

He was the son of Eunomus, King of 
Sparta, and brother of Polydectes. The 
latter succeeded his father as king of 
Sparta and afterwards died, leaving 
his wife with child. She proposed to 
Lycurgus to destroy her offspring if he 
would share the throne with her. He 
seemingly consented ; but when the 
child was born he openly proclaimed 
him king, and as next of kin acted as 
his guardian. But being charged by 
the opposite party with ambitious de- 
signs, he left Sparta and travelled ex- 
tensively during many years. Mean- 
while things in Sparta fell into disorder, 
and on his return he was hailed as the 
one man who could restore order. He 
undertook the task and, having con- 
sulted the Delphic oracle, he obtained 
for his institutions the approval of the 
god. He then exacted from the people 
a promise that they would not make 
any alteration in his laws before his 
return. And now he left Sparta to 
finish his life in voluntary exile in 
order that his countrymen might be 
bound by their oath to preserve his 
constitution inviolate for ever. Where 
and how he died nobody could tell. He 
vanished from the earth like a god, 
leaving no traces behind but his spirit, 
and he was honored as a god at Sparta, 
with a temple and yearly sacrifices 
down to the latest times. The date of 
Lycurgus is variously given, but it is 
impossible to place it later than B.C. 825. 



I 



LYM 



164 



MAC 



lym. A bloodhound ; so called because it 
was held by the hunter in a lym, leani 
or leash until slipped in pursuit of the 
game. Lr. Ill, 6, 72. 

Lymoges. O, Lymoges! O, Austria! 
John III, 1, 115. " Shakespeare, in the 
person of Austria, has conjoined the 
two well-known enemies of Richard 
Coeur-de-Lion. Leopold, Duke of Aus- 
tria, threw him into prison in a former 
expedition (in 1193), but the castle of 
Chaluz, before which he fell (in 1199), 
belonged to Vidomar, Viscount of 
Limoges." Blake. The cause of the 
siege, as related by French, was that a 
vassal of Vidomar found, as was re- 
ported to King Richard, a treasure of 
golden statues, representing a Roman 
emperor, with his wife, sons and daugh- 
ters, seated at a golden table, and was 
required to yield up the prize to Richard, 



Suzerain of the Limousin. On Vido- 
mar's refusal he was besieged in his 
castle at Chaluz-Chabrol, before which 
the heroic king received the wound of 
which he died twelve days after, viz., 
April 6, 1 199. The archer who pierced his 
shoulder with an arrow (of which wound 
he died) was Bertrand de Gourdon. 
Austria in the old play [The Trouble- 
sotne Raigne of King John] is called 
Lymoges, the Austrich duke. HoUin- 
shed says : * ' The same year Philip, 
bastard sonne to King Richard, to 
whom his father had given the castell 
and honour of Coniacke, killed the Vis- 
count of Lymoges in revenge of his 
father's death." 

Lysander, dr. p. In love with Hermione. 
Mids. 

Lysimachus, dr.p. Governor of Mity- 
lene. Per. 



^^j^^AB. The queen of the fairies. 

%[( Wti ^^^' ■^' ^' ^^' "^^^^ passage 

*5^ mi/j is the first that has been dis- 

f^ — n— ^ covered containing the name 

Mab as that of the fairy queen. There 

has been much discussion as to the 

origin of the name, but no satisfactory 

conclusion has been reached. 

Macbeth, dr.jD. General of the Scottish 

army. Mcb. 
Macbeth, Lady, dr.p. Wife to Macbeth. 
Mcb. 

Shakespeare's play has made the 
names of Macbeth and his wife known 
wherever the English language is 
spoken. It is therefore greatly to be 
regretted that he should have given 
such an erroneous and unjust view of 
of their characters as he has embodied 
in his drama, and it is well for the 
reader to bear in mind that Macbeth 
and the other dramatis personce of the 
play are purely the creations of the 
poet ; grand and wonderful creations, 
no doubt, but entirely fictitious and 



not at all historical. Indeed, several of 
the characters have no place whatever 
in history, and the main facts are 
merely imaginary. Macbeth, instead 
of being the bloodthirsty and unscru- 
pulous tyrant that Sh. represents him 
to be, was a just and wise monarch, 
and the best authorities agree that his 
reign was one of unusual peace and 
prosperity. Sir "Walter Scott condenses 
the real history of Macbeth as follows : 
"Duncan, by his mother, Beatrice, a 
grandson of Malcolm II, succeeded to 
the throne on his grandfather's death 
in 1033 ; he reigned only six years. 
Macbeth, his near relation, also a grand- 
child of Malcolm II, though by the 
mother's side, was stirred up by am- 
bition to contest the throne with the 
possessor. The Lady of Macbeth also, 
whose real name was Graoch, had 
deadly injuries to avenge on the reign- 
ing prince. Sho was the granddaughter 
of Kenneth IV, killed 1003 fighting 
against Malcolm II ; and other causes 



MAC 



165 



MAL 



for revenge animated the mind of her 
who has been since painted as the stern- 
est of women. The old annalists add 
some instigations of a supernatural 
kind to the influence of a vindictive 
woman over an ambitious husband. 
Three women of more than human 
stature and beauty appeared to Mac- 
beth in a dream or vision and hailed 
him successively by the titles of Thane 
of Cromarty, Thane of Moray (which 
the king afterwards bestowed on him), 
and finally by that of King of Scots; 
this dream, it is said, inspired him with 
the seductive hopes so well expressed 
in the drama. 

" Macbeth broke no law of hospitality 
in his attempts on Duncan's life. He 
attacked and slew the king at a place 
called Bothgowan, or the Smith's House, 
near Elgin, in 1039, and not, as has 
been supposed, in his own castle of 
Inverness. The act was bloody, as 
was the complexion of the times ; but, in 
very truth, the claim of Macbeth to the 
throne, according to the rule of Scottish 
succession, was better than that of 
Duncan. As a king, the tyrant so 
much exclaimed against was in reality 
a firm, just and equitable prince. Ap- 
prehensions of danger from a party 
which Malcolm, the eldest son of the 
slaughtered Duncan, had set on foot in 
Northumberland, and still maintained 
in Scotland, seem, in process of time, to 
have soured the temper of Macbeth and 
rendered him formidable to his nobility. 
Against Macdufl:, in particular, the 
powerful Maormor of Fife, he had 
uttered some threats which occasioned 
that chief to fly from the court of Scot- 
land. Urged by this new counsellor, 
Siward, the Danish Earl of ISTorthum- 
berland, invaded Scotland in the year 
1054, displaying his banner in behalf of 
the banished Malcolm. Macbeth en- 
gaged the foe in the neighbourhood of 
his celebrated castle of Dunsinane. He 
was defeated, but escaped from the 
battle, and was slain at Lumphanan 
in 1056." 



Macmorris, dr.p. An Irish officer in 
Henry the Fifth's army. HV. 

maculate. Stained; impure. LLL. 1, 2, 98. 

mad. Wild ; untrained. IHVI. V, 3, 191. 

made. Endowed with a fortune. Tw. 
Ill, 4, 57. 

Maecenas, dr.p. A friend to Octavius 
Caesar. Ant. 

maggot=pie. A magpie; a bird whose 
color is partly black and partly white, 
and which is noted for its power of 
mimicry. Mcb. Ill, 4, 125. 

magnifico. A title given to Venetian 
grandees. Merch. Ill, 2, 282; 0th. 1, 2, 12. 

Maid Marian. A character in the morris 
dance. IHIV. Ill, 3, 128. 

mailed. Covered as with a coat of mail. 
2HVI. II, 4, 31. 

main. 1. A hand at dice. IHIV. IV, 1, 47. 
2. The mainland. Lr. Ill, 1, 6. 

main=course. A main-sail. Tp. I, 1, 40. 

mained. Maimed. 2HVI. IV, 2, 176. 
Cade evidently gives it this form so as 
to make a pun on Maine. Some eds. 
suppose that mained is a misprint for 
maimed and correct it, thus destroying 
the joke. 

mainly. Forciblv ; mightily. IHIV. II, 
4, 222 ; Troil. IV, 4, 87. 

makeless. Mateless; widowed. Sonn. 
IX, 4. 

malady. Disease. Of man and beast 
the infinite malady = " every kind of 
disease incident to man and beast." 
Johnson. R. G-. White suggests in- 
fectious for infinite. Tim. Ill, 6, 109. 

Malcolm, dr.p. Son to King Duncan. 
Mcb. 

Malkin. A famUiar name for Mary, 
hence kitchen malkin = a servant 
wench. Cor. II, 1, 224; Per. IV, 3, 34. 

Mall. A diminutive of Mary ; old form 
of our Moll. Tp. II, 2, 50. 

There has been much speculation as 
to the identity of Mistress Mall, referred 
to in Tw. I, 3, 135, but without reaching 
a positive conclusion. Steevens claimed 
that the reference was to Mary Frith, 
better known as Mall Cutpurse, the 
heroine of Middleton and Dekker's 
comedy. The Roaring Girl, but this 



MAL 



166 



MAB 



Mall was only eleven or thirteen when 
Sh. play was written. The best author- 
ities are agreed that the allusion is to a 
mere impersonation and not to any 
particular individual. 

mallecho. Mischief. Probably from the 
Spanish malhecho = mischief. Hml. 
Ill, 2, 146. 

malt=horse. See horse. 

maIt=worm. One who drinks malt liquor. 
IHIV. II, 1, 83. 

Malvolio, dr. p. Steward to Olivia. Tw. 

Mamillius, dr.p. The young prince of 
Sicilia. Wint. 

tnammering. Hesitating; muttering. 0th. 

III, 3, 70. 

mammet. A puppet ; a doll. Rom. Ill, 
5, 186 ; IHIV. II, 3, 95. That in the 
first of these passages mammet means 
" puppet " (used as a term of reproach) 
is certain ; but in the second passage 
maiuTYiets perhaps means (as G-ifford 
first suggested) "breasts" (from mam- 
ma). Dyce. 

mammock. To tear in pieces. Cor. I, 
3, 71. 

man. To tame a hawk. A term in fal- 
conry. Shr, IV, 1, 196. 

manage. 1. Management. Tp. I, 2, 70; 
Merch. Ill, 4, 25. 

2. Measures; means. RII. I, 4, 39. 

3. Training ; government. RII. Ill, 3, 
179. 

mandragora, \ A plant noted for its 
mandrake. f soporific qualities. The 
root usually has two branches, and this 
gives it a resemblance to the human 
figure. It was said to utter shrieks 
when uprooted and to cause madness 
and even death to those who tore it 
from the ground. 2HI V. I, 2, 17 ; Rom. 

IV, 3, 47 ; 0th. Ill, 3, 330. 
mankind, adj. Masculine. Wint. II, 

3, 67 ; Cor. IV, 2, 18. 

manned. Furnished with a servant. 
2HIV. I, 2, 18 and 59. 

manner. Custom ; practice. Hml. I, 4, 
16. 

We give this common and simple 
word a place so as to have the oppor- 
tunity of saying that in the foregoing 



passage it is not a misprint for manor. 
A suggestion of this kind seems to have 
perennial vitality amongst unfledged 
Shakespearean critics. 

manner. To be taken with the manner 
== to be caught in the act. LLL. I, 1, 
202 ; Wint. IV, 4, 752. 

man=queller. A slayer of men ; a mur- 
derer. 2HIV. II, 1, 58. 

manure. To cultivate. 0th. I, 3, 329. 
This word has entirely changed its 
meaning; it originally signified "to 
work with the hand, ' ' being a contracted 
form of manoexivre. 

mappery. The study of maps ; theory 
as opposed to real practice in warfare. 
Troil. I, 3, 205. 

marble. Everlasting ; like marble. Tim. 

IV, 3, 192. 

marble=constant. Firm as marble. Ant. 

V, 2, 240. 

Marcellus, dr.p. An officer. Hml. 
Marcellus, dr.p. A Roman tribune. Cses. 
March, Earl of, dr.p>. Edward Mortimer. 

IHIV. 
March = chick. A chicken hatched in 

March ; precocious. Ado. I, 3, 58. 
marches. Frontiers; borders. HV. I, 

2, 140. 
marchpane. A kind of sweet biscuit 

composed largely of sugar and pounded 

almonds. Rom. I, 5, 9. 
Marcius, Caius, dr.p. A noble Roman, 

surnamed Coriolanus. Cor. 
Marcius, Young, dr.p. Son to Caius 

Marcius Coriolanus. Cor. 
Marcus Andronicus, dr.p. A tribune 

and brother to Titus Andronicus. Tit. 
Marcus Brutus, dr.p. A conspirator 

against Julius Caesar. Cses. 
Mardian, dr.p. Attendant on Cleopatra. 

Ant. 
mare. The nightmare. 2HIV. II, 1, 86. 
" The Hostess had' threatened to ride 

Falstaff like the Incubus or Nightmare; 

but his allusion (if it be not a wanton 

one) is to the Galloivs^ which is ludic- 
rously called the Timber or Two-legged 

Mare." Steevens. 
To ride the wild mare = to play at 

see-saw. 2HIV. II, 4, 238. This is 



MAR 



167 



MAS 



the interpretation given by Douce 
and accepted by most corns. But it 
seems to me that Falstaff 's expression 
means more than this. 

Mareschall, William, dr. p. Earl of Pem- 
broke. John. 

Margarelon, dr. p. Bastard son to Priam. 
Troil. 

Margaret, dr.p. Attendant on Hero. 
Ado. 

Margaret, dr.p. Daughter to Reignier 
{Renee), Eang of Anjou ; queen and 
afterwards widow to Henry VI. IHVI. , 
2HVI., 3HVI. andRIII. 

Margery Jourdain, dr.p. A witch. 2HVI. 
See Joiirdain. 

margent. 1. Margin. LLL. V, 2, 8. 
2. Glosses or comments frequently 
printed on the margins of old books. 
Hml. V, 2, 162. 

Maria, dr.p. A lady attending on the 
Princess of France. LLL. 

Maria, dr.p. Attendant on Olivia. Tw. 

Mariana, dr.p. A neighbour to a widow 
of Florence, All's. 

Mariana, dr.p. The betrothed of Angelo. 
Meas. 

Marina, dr.p. Daughter to Pericles. Per. 

marie. God bless the mark. Merch. II, 
2, 25. God save the mark. Rom. Ill, 
2, 53. See bless. 

Marie Antony, dr.p. The Roman trium- 
vir. Caes. 

Marquis of Dorset, dr.p. Son to Lady 
Grey. RIII. 

Marquis of Montague, dr.p. A Yorkist. 
3HVI. 

married. Exainine every married linea- 
ment. Rom. I, 3, 83. In the Fl. and 
all other early texts except the Quartos 
this passage reads, several lineaments. 
Prof. DowdeH, in his new ed. of this 
play, says : ' ' The word, as used here 
for mutually dependent, is illustrated 
by the ' well-tuned sounds By unions 
married ' of Sonn. VIII ; but several 
has the authority of all texts except Q. " 

m arry . An exclamation supposed to ha ve 
been derived from the name of the 
Virgin Mary. Gent. I, 1, 130 ; Tw. IV, 
2, 109 ; Cym. I, 1, 76. 



marry=trap. An exclamation of insult 
when a man was caught in his own 
stratagem. Johnson. Wiv. I, 1, 170. 

Mars. An ancient Roman god subse- 
quently identified with the Greek, Ares. 
He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, 
and next to Jupiter enjoyed the highest 
honors at Rome. He was worshipped 
as the god of war, and his priests, the 
Salii, danced in full armour, and the 
place dedicated to warlike exercises was 
called after his name. Campus Martins. 
The wolf was sacred to him in his char- 
acter of war-god, and the wood-pecker 
was dedicated to him as to a god gifted 
with prophetic powers. He is generally 
represented as driving a chariot drawn 
by his sister, Bellona. Mars'' hot minion 
(Tp. IV, 1, 97) = Venus. Her son, of 
course, is Cupid. See Venus. 

Mars. One of the planets. The astrologers 
claimed that the influence of this planet 
on the destinies of humanity was very 
great. All's. I, 1, 206; IHVI. I, 2, 1. 

mart. To traflfic. Cym. I, 6, 151. 

Martext, Sir Oliver, dr.j). A vicar. As. 

Martins, dr.p. Son to Titus Andronicus. 
Tit. 

Martlemas. A corruption of Martinmas. 
The feast of St. Martin, which occurs 
November 11th. Used of a person in 
the decline of life. 2HIV. II, 2, 110. 

mary=buds. Flowers of the marigold. 
Cym. II, 3, 25. 

mastic. A word of no well-ascertained 
meaning which occurs in Troil, I, 3, 73. 
In the Fl. it reads Masticke. Rowe 
changed this to mastiff; Bos well sug- 
gested masfive, and Orger, nasty. R. 
G. White notes that "mastix, said to 
be the feminine of mastigia, was used 
to mean a whip or scourge, especially of 
a moral kind," and quotes a passage 
from the Arcadia in support of its use 
here. He further says mastic " has 
generally been regarded as an error 
for ' mastiff ' — an epithet, the appro- 
priateness of which to the jaws of 
Thersites I cannot see, as he was one 
of those barking dogs that never bite." 
Fleay, who thought that the character 



I 



MAT 



168 



MED 



of Thersites was a satirical portrait of 
Dekker, sees in mastic an allusion to 
the Histrio-7nastix, or, The Player 
Whipt of that writer, one of whose 
lines was probably aimed at Shak;^- 
speare. The line is 

That when he shakes his furious speare. 
But is it not possible that the epithet 
was applied to Thersites because he was 
such an incessant talker that his jaws 
were always moving as if he were 
chewing (masticating) ?" 

match. An appointment. Wiv. II, 2, 
304. 

mate. To confound ; to paralyze. Mcb. 
V, 1, 86. 

maund. A hand-basket. Compl. 36. 

mazed. Confused ; bewildered ; literally, 
lost in a maze or labyrinth. Mids. II, 

I, 113; IHVI. IV, 2, 47; HVIII. II, 4, 
185. This word is not a contraction of 
amazed as it is sometimes printed and 
glossed. 

mazzard. The head. A modification of 
mazar, a bowl. Hml. V, 1, 97 ; 0th. 

II, 3, 157. 

meacock. Tame ; cowardly ; spiritless. 
Shr. II, 1, 315. 

meal'd. Johnson defines this word, as it 
occurs (Meas. IV, 2, 86) : " sprinkled, 
defiled." Blackstone: " mingled, com- 
pounded," from the French meler. But 
is it not rather a form of the A. S. mcel, 
a part or portion, and meaning : were 
he art and part with that which he 
corrects, as the Scotch would say. 

meander. A winding way. Through 
forthrights and meanders = straight 
paths and crooked or winding ways. 
Tp. Ill, 3, 3. 

measles. Originally signified leprosy, 
though now used for a very different 
disorder. The origin is the old French 
word vieseau or mesel, a leper. Cot- 
grave has " meseau, a meselled, scurvy, 
leaporous, lazarous person. ' ' The word 
still retains somewhat of its original 
meaning in the case of hogs or pork, 
and we speak of measly pork. Cor. 

III, 1, 78. 

measure. 1. Reach. Gent. V, 4, 137. 



2. A grave and dignified dance. The 
word is frequently used in a punning 
sense, as in Rom. I, 4, 10 and RII. Ill, 
4,7. 

meazel. The old spelling of measle ; a 
leper; spoken in contempt of a mean 
person. Cor. Ill, 1, 78. 

mechanical, n. A handicraftsman ; a 
mechanic. Mids. Ill, 2, 9 ; Caes. I, 1, 3. 

medal. Defined by Schm. and others as 
"a portrait in a locket." Wint. I, 2, 
307. 

meditance. Premeditation. Kins. I, 1. 

medius fidius. "An old Latin oath, 
apparently short for Tne dius Fidius 
adiuvet, may the divine Fidius help 
me ! If fidius stands for filius, then 
it means, may the divine son of Jupiter 
help me ! The reference in that case 
is most likely to god Hercules. ' ' Skeat ' 
Kins. Ill, V. 

meddle. 1. To mix; to mingle. Tp. I, 
2, 22. 

2. To have to do with. Tw. II, 4, 275. 
In this instance = to fight, cf. comeddle. 

Medea was the daughter of JEtes, King 
of Colchis. She M^as celebrated for her 
skill in magic. When Jason came to 
Colchis in search of the golden fleece, 
she fell in love with the hero, assisted 
him in accomplishing the object of his 
adventure and afterward fled with 
him as his wife to Greece, taking her 
younger brother Absyrtus with her. 
Her father pursued her and when she 
was nearly overtaken, she murdered 
Absyrtus, cut his body into pieces and 
strewed them on the road so that her 
father might be delayed in gathering 
the limbs of his child. (2HVI. V, 2, 59.) 
When Jason and she reached lolcus 
they found ^son, the aged father of 
Jason, still alive, and Medea restored 
him to youth by injecting the juice of 
magic herbs into his veins. (Merch. V, 
1, 15.) After some years, however, 
Jason deserted Medea in order to marry 
Glauce or Creusa, daughter of Creon, 
the king of the country. Medea took 
fearful vengeance for the insult. She 
killed her two children that she had by 



MED 



169 



MEL 



Jason and sent Grlauce a poisoned gar- 
ment which burned her to death when 
she put it on. Creon likewise perished 
in the flames. She then fled to Athens 
in a chariot drawn by winged dragons. 
Others relate that she fled to Hercules 
at Thebes, he having promised her his 
assistance, while yet in Colchis, in case 
of Jason being unfaithful to her. She 
cured Hercules, who was seized with 
madness. At length Medea is said to 
have become immortal, to have been 
honored with divine worship, and to 
have married Achilles in Elysium. 

medicine. A physician. (French medi- 
cin.) All's. II, 1, 75 ; Wint. IV, 4, 598 ; 
Mcb. V, 2, 27. 

medlar. A tree, the fruit of which is 
small and in shape like an apple, but 
flat at the top and only fit to be eaten 
when very ripe or mellow. The Mespi- 
lus germanica. EUacombe tells us that 
"Shakespeare only used the common 
language of his time when he described 
the medlar as only fit to be eaten when 
rotten. But, in fact, the medlar when 
fit to be eaten is no more rotten than a 
ripe peach, pear or strawberry, or any 
other fruit which we do not eat till it 
has reached a certain stage of softness. 
There is a vast difference between a 
ripe and a rotten medlar, though it 
would puzzle many of us to say when a 
fruit (not a medlar only) is ripe, that is, 
fit to be eaten. The Japanese always 
eat their peaches in an unripe state ; 
they regard a ripe peach as rotten." 
Chaucer gives the medlar a very pro- 
minent place in his description of a 
beautiful garden ; and certainly a fine 
medlar-tree "ful of blossomes " is a 
handsome ornament on any lawn. 

In As. Ill, 2, 125 there is an obvious 
pun between meddler and medlar. 
Also in Tim. IV, 3, 307. In Meas. IV, 
3, 184 it is used as a term of contempt 
for a woman, undoubtedly with the 
same meaning implied in Rom. II, 1, 
38, but which cannot be discussed here. 
In the early days of printing the 
wood of the medlar-tree was used for 



making type, it being close-grained like 
that of the pear and apple. 
meed. 1. Reward; hire. As. II, 3, 58; 
RIII. I, 3, 139 ; Cym. Ill, 5, 168. 
2. Merit ; worth. 3HVI. II, 1, 36 ; Tim. 
I, 1, 288. 
meered, ) This word has given rise to 
mered. ) much discussion. It is tneered 
in the Fl ; mered in some other editions. 
Schm. explains it as sole, entire [mere) ; 
Nares, as defined, limited. To mear 
(meaning to bound) occurs in Spenser 
and in North's "Plutarch," and 'tneere- 
stone is an old word for boundary 
stone. Ant. Ill, 13, 10. 
meliercle. By Hercules. LLL. IV, 2, 80. 
meiny, | A company belonging to or 
menie. f attending upon a particular 
person; from ?nesme, old French, which 
Roquefort defines, "famille, maison, 
tons ceux qui la composent." Nares. 
Often, but erroneously, confounded with 
the English word many. Lr. II, 4, 35. 
Meynie, in Cor. Ill, 1, 66, is in most 
modern editions changed to many and, 
perhaps, properly so. 
Meleager. This name does not occur in 
Sh., but there are several references to 
him. Prince's heart of Caly don, 2H.V1. 
I, 1, 235, and the boar of Thessaly, 
Ant. IV, 13, 2. He was the son of 
CEneus and Althea, and was one of the 
most famous ^tolian heroes of Caly- 
don. He took part in the Argonautie 
expedition, and on his return home he 
found the fields of Caly don wasted by 
an enormous boar which Diana had 
sent against the country as a punish- 
ment, because OEneus, the king, once 
neglected to offer up a sacrifice to the 
goddess. Meleager, with a band of 
heroes, went out to hunt the boar. 
Amongst the company was the fair 
maiden Atalanta, bub the heroes refused 
to hunt with her until Meleager, who 
was in love with her, overcame their 
opposition, Atalanta gave the animal 
the first wound, and it was then slain 
by Meleager. He presented the hide to 
Atalanta, but his mother's brothers, 
the sons of Thestius, took it from her, 



MEL 



170 



MER 



whereupon Meleager, in a rage, slew 
them. This, however, was the cause of 
his own death, for which see Althea. 
Althea, repenting too late of what she 
had done, put an end to her life, and 
his wife, Cleopatra (not the heroine of 
Sh, play), died of grief. 

mell. To meddle ; to have to do with. 
All's. IV, 3, 257. 

Melun, dr.p. A French lord. John. 

Matthew Paris tells us that Melun, 
before his death, made the confession 
which is given in John V, 4. In the old 
play of The Troublesome Raigne of 
King John, may be found the details of 
the agreement between the dauphin 
and sixteen of his nobles, and the oath 
by which they bound themselves to 
execute their English allies and deprive 
their heirs of their seigniories. Melun 
was one of the sixteen. 

memorize. To make memorable ; to make 
glorious. HVIII. Ill, 2, 52; Mcb. I, 
2,40. 

Menas, dr.p. Friend to Pompey. Ant. 

Menecrates, dr.p. Friend to Pompey. 
Ant. 

Menelaus, dr.p. Brother to Agamemnon. 
Troil. 

Menelaus was the son of Plisthenes or 
Atreus and the younger brother of 
Agamemnon. He was king of Lace- 
daemon, and married to the famous 
Helen, by whom he became the father 
of Hermione. When Helen had been 
carried of by Paris, Menelaus and 
Ulysses sailed to Troy in order to 
demand her restitution. Menelaus was 
hospitably treated by Antenor, but the 
journey was of no avail, and the Trojan, 
Antimachus, even advised his fellow- 
citizens to kill Menelaus and Ulysses. 
Thereupon Menelaus and his brother, 
Agamemnon resolved to march against 
Troy with all the forces that the Greeks 
could muster. Agamemnon was chosen 
the commander-in-chief. In the Trojan 
war Menelaus was under the special 
protection of Juno and Minerva, and 
distinguished himself by his bravery in 
battle. He killed many illustrious 



Trojans, and would have slain Paris 
also in single combat had not the latter 
been carried off by Venus in a cloud. 
Menelaus was one of the heroes con- 
cealed in the wooden horse (see horse), 
and as soon as Troy was taken he and 
Ulysses hastened to the house of Dei- 
phobus, who had married Helen after 
the death of Paris, and put him to death 
in a barbarous manner. Menelaus is 
said to have been secretly introduced 
into the chamber of Deiphobus by Helen, 
who thus became reconciled to her 
former husband. He was among the 
first that sailed away from Troy, ac- 
companied by his wife, Helen, and 
Nestor, but he was eight years wander- 
ing about the shores of the Mediterranean 
before he reached home. Henceforth 
he lived with Helen at Sparta in peace 
and wealth, and his palace is said to 
have shone in its splendor like the sun 
or the moon. 

Menenius Agrippa, dr.jJ. Friend to Corio- 
lanus. Cor. 

Menteith, dr.p. A Scottish nobleman. 
Mcb. 

Menteith. A district in the south of 
Perthshire, Scotland, laying between 
the Leith and the Forth. It is not a 
county as Schm. says. IHIV. I, 1, 73. 

Mephistophilus. A disparaging nick- 
name applied by Pistol to Slender. Wiv. 
I, 1, 132. Mephistophilus was the name 
of a supposed familiar spirit in the old 
legend of Sir John Faustus, and con- 
sequently the principal agent in Mar- 
lowe's play of Dr. Faustus. 

Mercade, dr.p. A lord attending on the 
Princess of France. LLL. 

mercatante. Italian for merchant and 
used in same sense. Shr. IV, 2, 63. In 
some editions 'inarcautant. See mer- 
chant. 

merchant. A fellow ; a chap ; probably 
equivalent to peddler or chapman. 
IHVI. II, 3, 57 ; Rom. II, 4, 153. Used 
also in a better sense. Merch. Ill, 2, 242. 

Mercurial. Like Mercury; swift-footed. 
Mercury had wings on his feet. Cym. 
IV, 2, 310. See Mercury 



MEB 



171 



MER 



Mercury. This was the name of the 
Roman god of commerce and gain, the 
origin of the word being exactly the 
same as that of our word tner chant. 
His statue in Rome had a purse in its 
hand to signify his functions. The 
Romans of later times identified this 
god of merchants and tradespeople with 
the Greek, Hermes, and transferred all 
the attributes and myths of the latter 
to the former. But the Fetiales or 
College of Priests never recognized the 
identity of the two, and instead of a 
caducexLs used a sacred branch as the 
emblem of peace. In all the references 
in Sh., however, the allusions are to the 
attributes of Hermes, who was the son 
of Jupiter and Maia, the daughter of 
Atlas. He was born in a cave of Mount 
Cyllene in Arcadia. A few hours after 
his birth he escaped from his cradle, 
went to Pieria and stole some of the 
oxen of Apollo. That he might not be 
discovered by the traces of his footsteps 
he wore sandals and drove the oxen to 
Pylos, where he killed two and con- 
cealed the rest in a cave. When he 
returned to Cyllene he found a tortoise 
at the entrance of his native cave. He 
took the shell of the animal, drew 
strings across it and thus invented the 
lyre, on which he immediately played. 
Apollo, by his prophetic power, had, in 
the meantime discovered the thief and 
charged Hermes with the crime before 
his mother, Maia. She showed to the 
god the child in its cradle, but Apollo 
carried him before Jupiter who com- 
manded him to return the oxen. Hermes 
then conducted Apollo to Pylos and 
restored to him his oxen, but when 
Apollo heard the sounds of the lyre he 
was so charmed that he allowed Hermes 
to keep the cattle. 

An account of the adventures of 
Mercury (Hermes) and the services that 
he rendered to the gods would fill a 
large book. His principal function 
was that of herald to the gods, hence he 
was regarded as the god of eloquence, 
since eloquence is one of the most im- 



portant of the arts employed by heralds 
and messengers. And as messengers 
should also be endowed with cunning, 
he was known as the god of thieves and 
liars. Tw. I, .5, 105. He was also the 
acknowledged author of many inven- 
tions. His principal attributes are : 1. 
A travelling hat, with a broad brim, 
which in later time was adorned with 
two little wings. 2. His staff, which, 
instead of being entwined with white 
ribbons like the ordinary herald's staves, 
was entwined with two sei'pents. See 
caduceus. The staff, in later times, is 
further adorned with a pair of wings 
expressing the swiftness with which 
the messenger of the gods moved from 
place to place. 3. The sandals. They 
were beautiful and golden, and carried 
the god across land and sea with the 
rapidity of the wind. At the ankles 
they were provided with wings. 

The planet Mercury is evidently re- 
ferred to by Autolycus. Wint. IV, 3. 
25. The old astrological beliefs were 
strongly held in the days of Sh., and 
the influence of the planet Mercury 
upon human destiny was supposed to 
tend powerfully towards an endowment 
of the characteristics of the god whose 
name it bore. 

Mercutio, dr.p. Friend to Romeo. Rom. 

mere. Complete ; entire. 0th. II, 2, 3 ; 
Cym. IV, 2, 92. Used as an adverb 
(= merely) in All's. Ill, 5, 58. 

mere, ) Entire; absolute; only. 0th. 

mered. \ II, 2, 3 ; Troil. I, 3, 111 ; Ant. 
Ill, 2, 10 ; Cym. V, 5, 335. 

merely. Simply ; absolutely ; quite. Tp. 
I, 1, 59 ; Hml. I, 2, 137. 

mermaid. A fabulous creature, half 
woman and half fish. Schm. says the 
word is synonymous with siren, but 
this is not strictly correct, although Sh. 
frequently applies the word interchange- 
ably, as in Err. Ill, 2, 45 and 168, and 
elsewhere. See siren. Mermaid was 
old slang for a woman of bad char- 
acter. Of the passage : And heard 
a mermaid on a dolphh^s hack, etc. 
(Mids. II, 1, 150), Furness tells us that 



MER 



17r3 



MES 



"this speech of Oberon has been the 
subject of more voluminous specu- 
lation than any other twenty-five lines 
in Shakespeare. Perhaps, not unnatur- 
ally. Let an allegory be once scented 
and the divagations are endless." Ac- 
cording to Rowe, it amounted to no 
more than a compliment to Queen 
Elizabeth, who is meant by the "fair 
vestal, throned by the west. " In regard 
to this all are agreed. But Warburton 
went further and claimed that the mer- 
maid was Mary, Queen of Scots, the 
dolphin being the dauphin of France, 
son of Henry II, to whom Mary was 
married. See dauj^hin. The superla- 
tive abilities and attractions of Mary 
are set forth in the line : uttering such 
dulcet and harmoyiious breath; and 
by the stars that shot madly from their 
sjoheres are "meant the eai-ls of North- 
umberland and Westmoreland, who fell 
in her quarrel ; and principally the 
great duke of Norfolk, whose projected 
marriage with her was attended with 
such fatal consequences. ' ' The allegory 
is certainly very close. Marshall and 
others think it refers to the entertain- 
ment given to Elizabeth at Kenilworth 
in 1575, and that the stars that shot 
madly from their spheres were fire- 
works! ! But this is certainly a very 
unpoetioal conception and one entirely 
unworthy of the passage under consider- 
ation. He identifies the mermaid on 
the dolphin with Arion " riding aloft 
upon his old friend the dolphin,'''' as 
described by Laneham in his account of 
the festivities. Arion must have made 
a rare old mermaid. 

It is worthy of note in this connection 
that Mary, in her own day, was carica- 
tured under the symbol of a mermaid. 
See Strickland's " Queens of Scotland," 
art. Mary. 

The point is one of intense interest, 
and those who desire to study the sub- 
ject thoroughly will find the material 
in Furness's ed. of Midsummer NighV s 
Dream, where nearly seventeen closely 
printed royal octavo pages are devoted 



to it. The following quotation from 
Furness cannot fail to interest our 
readers : "In the copy of Hanmer's 
' Shakespeare,' which Mrs. F. A. Kemble 
used in her Public Readings, and 
which she gave to the present editor, 
there is in the margin opposite this 
passage the following MS. note by that 
loved and venerated hand : ' It always 
seems to me the crowning hardship of 
Mary Stuart's hard life to have had 
this precious stone thrown at her by 
the hand of Shakespeare — it seems to 
me most miserable, even when I think 
of all her misery, that she should have 
had this beautiful, bad record from the 
humanest man that ever lived, and, for 
her sins, the greatest poet — and she that 
was wise (not good) and prosperous, to 
have this crown of stars set on her 
narrow forehead by the same hand.' " 
But although Sh. as a poet paid Eliza- 
beth this glowing compliment, evidently 
before he realized her true character, 
when she came to die he had not one 
word of sorrow or of praise to utter in 
her behalf. 

Merops. A king of the Ethiopians. His 
wife, Clymene, became the mother of 
Phaethon by Helios (the Sun). See 
Phadhon. Gent. Ill, 1, 153. 

meshed. Mashed ; brewed. Tit. Ill, 2, 38. 

mess. 1. A party eating together ; a 
company. John I, 1, 190; Hml. V. 2, 
89. Lower m,esses = persons of inferior 
rank; properly those who, at meals, 
sat below the salt — at the lower end of 
the table. Wint. I, 2, 227. 

2. A party of four. Thus Cotgrave 
gives; "A messe. (Vulgairement) Le 
nombre de quatre." Mess came to 
signify a set of four, because at great 
dinners the company was usually ar- 
ranged into fours, which were called 
messes. LLL. IV, 3, 207 ; do. V, 2, 361 ; 
3HVI. I, 4, 73. 

3. A small quantity ; as much as would 
serve for a meal. 2HIV. II, 1, 103; 
0th. IV, 1, 211. 

Messala, dr. p. Friend to Brutus and 
Cassius. Caes. 



MET 



173 



MIL 



metaphysical. Supernatural. Mcb. 1, 5, 30. 

Metellus Cimber, dr. p. Conspirator 
against Julius Caesar. Cses. 

mete=yard. A measuring yard. Shr. 
IV, 3, 153. 

mew. " Mew is the place, whether it be 
abroad or in the house, in which the 
Hawk is put during the time she casts 
or doth change her feathers. " Holme's 
"Academy of Armory and Blazon." 
Shr. I, 1, 87; John IV, 2, 57; RIII. I, 
1, 38, and 133. 

mettle. 1. Material ; quality. HV. Ill, 

1, 27 ; Mcb. I, 7, 73. 

2. Disposition; courage; temper. Tw. 

Ill, 4, 300 ; Tp. II, 1, 182 ; IHI V. II, 4, 13. 
meyny. The multitude ; probably a form 

of many. Cor. Ill, 1, 66. 
Michael, dr .p. A follower of Cade. 2HVI. 
Michael, Sir, d7\p. Friend to Archbishop 

of York. IHIV. and 2HIV. 
micher. A sneak; a truant. IHIV. II, 

4, 450. 
miching. Secret; sneaking. Hml. Ill, 

2, 146. 

mickle. Much ; great. Err. Ill, 1, 45 ; 
HV. II, 1, 70 ; Rom. II, 3, 15. A word 
almost obsolete in the time of Sh. , but 
still in use in Scotland in the form 
"muckle," which is a mere variant. 
There is an old proverb: "Many a 
pickle make a mickle," or, as Ray gives 
it: " Many littles make a mickle. " By 
a strange perversion this proverb is 
frequently altered to "Many a mickle 
make a muckle," which is nonsense, as 
mickle and muckle are merely different 
forms of the same word^ 

Midas. The son of Gordius and Cybele, 
is said to have been a wealthy but 
effeminate king of Phrygia, a pupil of 
Orpheus and a great patron of the 
worship of Bacchus. It is said that 
while a child, ants carried grains of 
wheat into his mouth to indicate that 
one day he should be the richest of all 
mortals. On one occasion Silenus, the 
companion and teacher of Bacchus, had 
gone astray in a state of intoxication 
and was caught by the country people 
in the rose gardens of Midas. He was 



bound with wreaths of flowers and 
led before the king. Midas received 
Silenus kindly, and after treating him 
with hospitality he led him back to 
Bacchus who, in his gratitude, allowed 
Midas to ask a favor of him. Midas, in 
his folly, desired that all things which 
he touched should be changed into gold. 
The request was granted, but as even 
the food which he touched became gold 
he implored the god to take his favor 
back. Bacchus accordingly ordered him 
to bathe in the source of Pactolus, near 
Mount Tmolus. This bath saved Midas, 
but from that time the river always 
had abundance of gold in its sand. 
Merch. Ill, 2, 102. On one occasion, 
when Pan and Apollo were engaged in 
a musical contest on the flute and lyre, 
Midas was chosen to decide between 
them. The king decided in favor of 
Pan, whereupon Apollo changed his 
ears into those of an ass. Midas con- 
trived to conceal them under his 
Phrygian cap, but the servant who 
used to cut his hair discovered them. 
The secret so much harassed this man 
that, as he could not betray it to a 
human being, he dug a hole in the earth 
and whispered in it ; " King Midas has 
ass's ears." He then filled the hole up 
again and his heart was relieved. But 
on the same spot a reed grew up which 
in its whispers betrayed the secret. 
Midas is said to have killed himself by 
drinking the blood of an ox. 

middest. The middle ; the thick. 2HVI. 
IV, 8, 64. 

middle=earth. The world. A man of 
Tniddle-earth (Wiv. V, 5, 86) evidently 
means one who belongs to the space 
between the sky and the infernal 
regions. 

Milan, Duke of, dr.p. Father to Silvia. 
Gent. 

milch. Moist ; shedding tears. Hml. II, 
2, 548. 

milliner. A man dealing in fancy articles. 
Wint. IV, 4, 192. 

mill=sixpence. A coin (sixpence) on which 
the impression was made by a screw 



MIL 



174 



MIN 



press instead of with a hamnier. Such 
coins were introduced about 1572 and 
were, in many respects, superior to the 
old ones. Wiv. I, 1, 158. 

millstones. " To weep millstones " is a 
proverbial expression signifying not to 
weep at aU. RIII. I, 3, 353. TroU. I, 
2, 157. 

mince. 1. To make small ; hence to 
extenuate or palliate. 0th. II, 3, 247 ; 
Ant. I, 2, 109. 
2. To act in an affected and delicate 
manner, as, for example, to take small 
steps. Wiv. V, 1, 9 ; Merch. Ill, 4, 67 ; 
Troil. I, 2, 279. 

For the passage in Lr, IV, 6, 119, it 
has been suggested by Collier's MS. 
corrector that minces is a misprint for 
mimics. This is certainly a good sug- 
gestion ; counterfeiting or mimicking 
virtue seems more expressive here than 
m,incing, even if we accept an old 
definition of mincing given by Cotgrave 
{s.v. Tnineux) — squeamish, quaint, coy. 

mine. To undermine ; to sap ; to destroy. 
As. 1, 1, 22. 

mineral. Anything that is mined or dug 
out of a mine. Hml. IV, 1, 26. See oi^e. 

Minerva. Identified by the Romans with 
the Greek goddess Athena. Various 
accounts are given of her birth and 
parentage, one being that she was the 
daughter of Jupiter without a mother. 
Jupiter being tormented with severe 
pains in his head ordered Vulcan to 
split his skull open. This was done, 
and Minerva sprang forth with a mighty 
shout and clad in complete armour. 
She was the goddess of all wisdom and 
of the arts and sciences, and her in- 
ventions are many and important. She 
was believed to have invented nearly 
every kind of work in which women 
were employed, and she herself was 
skilled in such work, as witness her 
contest with Arachne. See Arachne. 
She assumes the character of a warlike 
divinity, but, unlike Mars, she preserves 
men from slaughter when prudence 
demands it and repels the savage love 
of war shown by Mars, and conquers 



him. In the reign of Cecrops both 
Neptune and Minerva contended for 
the possession of Athens. The gods re- 
solved that whichever of them produced 
a gift most useful to mortals should have 
possession of the land. Neptune struck 
the ground with his trident and straight- 
way a horse appeared. Minerva ( Athena) 
then planted the olive. The gods there- 
upon decreed that the olive was more 
useful to man than the horse and gave 
the city to the goddess. From her it 
was called Athenae. 

minikin. Small and pretty. Lr. Ill, 6, 45. 

minion. The best ; the choice. Mcb. II, 
4, 15. From the French mignon, which 
Cot. defines as pleasing, gentle, kind. 
Skeat suggests that the use of the word 
with a sinister meaning was probably 
borrowed from the Italian mignone, a 
favorite. But the transition from favor- 
ite, in the good sense of one well-beloved, 
to favorite, a servile follower, is obvious 
and easy. 

minimus. Anything very small. Mids. 
Ill, 2, 329. 

Minos. A king and lawgiver of Crete. 
His wife, Pasiphse, gave birth to a 
monster, Minotaurus, which had a buU's 
body and a human head. Others say 
a human body and a bull's head. The 
monster was kept in the labyrinth con- 
structed by Daedalus at Cnosus. See 
Dcedahis. Minos made war against the 
Athenians and Megarians and compelled 
the former to send either every year or 
every nine years, a tribute of seven 
youths and seven maidens who were 
devoured in the labyrinth by the Mino- 
taurus. The monster was slain by 
Theseus. 3HVI. V, 6, 22. 

Minotaur. IHVI. V, 3, 189. See Minos. 

minute=jacks. Fickle time-servers ; liter- 
ally, fellows that watch their minutes 
to make their advantage. Tim. Ill, 6, 
107. 

minutely. Every minute. Mcb. V, 2, 
18. This word, in this sense, has now 
fallen into disuse, like the word pre- 
sently as meaning at present, which is 
used only in Scotland, where they speak 



MIR 



175 



MON 



of a person as " presently residing " — 
meaning residing at present. In Sh. 
time this was one of the ordinary sig- 
nifications of the word. 

mirable. Admirable. Troil. IV, 5, 142. 

miraculous harp. The reference in Tp. 
II, 1, 87, to the miraculous harp may 
be either to that of Amphion or that of 
Apollo. Amphion and his brother 
Zethus having taken Thebes and put 
Lycus, the king, and his wife, Dirce, to 
death because Lycus had repudiated 
their mother, they fortified the city by 
a wall, and it is said that when Amphion 
played the lyre the stones moved of 
their own accord and formed the wall. 
Apollo, by means of his harp, raised 
the walls of Troy. Phillpotts says : 
" If Gonzalo makes Carthage and Tunis 
into one city, his word has more power 
than Amphion 's harp, which raised the 
walls of Thebes." 

Miranda, dr.p. Daughter to Prospero. 
Tp. 

miscreate. Illegitimate. HV. I, 2, 16. 

misdoubt, n. Suspicion ; apprehension. 
2HVI. Ill, 1, 332. 

misdoubt, v. To mistrust. Wiv. II, 1, 
192; LLL. IV, 3, 194. 

miser. A miserable wretch. Not neces- 
sarily a hoarder of money. IHVI. V, 
4,7. 

misery. Wretchedness; poverty. Cor. 
II, 2, 131. Generally explained here as 
avarice, but, as Schm, well says, quite 
unnecessarily. 

misgraffed. Ill-placed. Mids. I, 1, 137. 

misprise, ) 1. To undervalue ; to slight. 

misprize. ) As. I, 1, 177 ; Troil. IV, 5, 74. 
From the French mepriser. 
2. To mistake. Mids. Ill, 2, 74. 

misprised. Mistaken. Mids. Ill, 2, 74. 

misprision. 1. The taking of one thing 
for another ; mistake ; error. Ado. IV, 
1, 187 ; LLL. IV, 3, 98 ; IHIV. I, 3, 27. 
2. Contempt; undervaluing. AU's. II, 
3, 159. 

miss. Misconduct. Ven. 53. 

missingly. With regret. Wint. IV, 1, 34. 

missive. A messenger. Mcb, I, 5, 7 ; 
Ant. II, 2, 78. 



mist. To bedew ; to cover with mist. 
Lr. V, 3, 264. 

mistempered. 1. Badly tempered or 
hardened (as steel). Rom. I, 1, 94. 
2. Ill-tempered ; angry. John. Vj 1, 12. 

misthink. To think ill of . 3HVI. II, 5, 108. 

mistreadings. Sins. IHIV. Ill, 2, 11. 

mistress. 1. A term of courtesy used 
in Sh. time in speaking of or to women 
(except those of high rank) indiscrimin- 
ately, whether they were married or 
not. Even in the beginning of the last 
century it w as customary to style an un- 
married lady, mistress. Wiv. V, 5, 194. 
2. The small ball at the game of bowls, 
now called the Jack, at which the 
players aim. Nares. Troil. Ill, 2, 52. 

mixture. But when the planets In evil 
mixture to disorder xvander. T^-oil. 
I, 3, 95. " I believe the poet, according 
to astrological opinions, means when 
the planets form malignant configura- 
tions, when their aspects are evil to- 
wards one another. This he terms evil 
mixture.'''' Johnson. 

mobled. Having the head wrapped up 
or muffled. Hml. II, 2, 525. 

modern. Commonplace. As. II, 7, 156 ; 
AU's. II, 3, 2. Mcb. IV, 3, 170. 

module. An image ; not the real thing. 
John V, 7, 58. 

moe. More. RII. II, 1, 239. 

moiety. A portion. Lr. 1, 1, 7. Properly 
a half, from the Latin niedius, the 
middle. It has this meaning in All's. 
Ill, 2, 69. 

moist star. The moon. Hml. I, 1, 118. 
See moon. 

moldwarp. A mole. {Scotch mody wart.) 
IHIV. Ill, 1, 149. 

mome. A dolt; a blockhead. Err. Ill, 
1,32. 

momentany. Lasting but a moment ; 
momentary. Mids. I, 1, 143. 

Monarch©. The nickname of a crack- 
brained Italian who attracted a great 
deal of attention just before Sh. time. 
He fancied that he was emperor of the 
world. LLL. IV, 1, 101. 

Montague, dr. p. At variance with Capu- 
let. Borneo's father. Rom. 



MON 



176 



MOB 



Montague, Lady, dr.p. Wife to Mont- 
ague. Rotn. 

Montague, Marquis of, dr.p. A Yorkist. 
3HVI. 

Montano, dr.p. Governor of Cyprus. 
0th. 

Montgomery, Sir John, dr.p. 3HVI. 

montant. An old fencing term, meaning 
an upright blow or thrust. Cot. Wiv. 

II, 3, 27. cf. Montanto, applied by 
Beatrice to Benedick. Ado, I, 1, 30. 

month's mind. Sometimes defined as 
monthly commemoration of the dead, 
but used ludicrously to mean a great or 
strong desire. Croft explains it as a 
woman's longing such as sometimes 
occurs in pregnancy. Gent. I, 2, 137. 

Montjoy, dr.p. A French herald. HV. 

monumental. Ancestral. All's. IV, 3, 20. 

mood. Anger. Gent. IV, 1, 51 ; Rom. 

III, 1, 13. 

moon. The moon was believed not only 
to govern the tides (Hml. I, 1, 118) and 
to exert a powerful influence over the 
condition of men and plants (Troil. Ill, 
2, 184), but to be the source of dew. 
The dew-drops were supposed to be the 
tears of the moon. Mids. Ill, I, 204 ; 
Mcb. Ill, 5, 24. 

moon=calf. Literally, a person or con- 
ception influenced by the moon; an 
abortion ; a monster. Tp. II, 2, 115. 

moonish. Inconstant; capricious; change- 
able like the moon. As. Ill, 2, 430. 

Moonshine, dr.jJ. A character in the 
Interlude. Mids. 

moonshine, sop o' th'. Kent's emphatic 
threat : Fll make a soj) o' th^ moon- 
shine of you (Lr. II, 2, 35) has called 
forth nauch comment, "some of which 
seems more realistic than poetical. Thus 
Nares even goes so, far as to suggest 
that Kent threatens to convert Oswald 
into a dish known as "eggs in moon- 
shine," and in illustration of his ex- 
planation he actually gives a cookery 
recipe for this culinary preparation ! 
Entwisle says : " Plainly, Kent's in- 
tention is to make a ' sop ' of him in the 
sense of steeping him in his own blood, 
by the consenting light of the moon." 



Clarke thinks that Kent means: "I'll 
beat you flat as a pancake." It is 
evident that none of these conveys a 
meaning precisely equivalent to that 
intended by Sh. Moonshine has always 
been regarded as one of the most un- 
substantial of entities; "a sop o' the 
moonshine ' ' is the next thing to nothing ; 
to convert Oswald into that, would be 
to almost annihilate him, so that Kent's 
threat is equivalent to saying, in the 
vernacular, though, perhaps, less poetic 
language, of to-day : "I won't leave a 
grease spot of you." The moon was 
shining and so there was light enough 
for " thrust and ward." 

mop, n. A nod ; a grimace. Tp. IV, 1, 47. 

mop, V. To make grimaces. Lr. IV, 1, 64. 

mopping. Making grimaces, Lr. IV, 1,62, 

Mopsa, dr.p. A shepherdess. Wint. 

moral. A hidden meaning. Ado. Ill, 4, 
78 ; Shr. IV, 4, 79 ; HV. Ill, 6, 35. 

Morgan, dr.p. Assumed name of Belarius, 
Cym. 

Morocco, Prince of, dr.p. Suitor to 
Portia, Merch. 

Morisco. A morris dancer, 2HVI. Ill, 

I, 365. 

morning's love. See Aurora and Cepha- 

lus. 
morris. 1. A morris-dance, q.v. All's, 

II, 2, 25. 

2. The nine tnen^s m,orris. Mids. II, 1, 
98. In the Var. Sh, (1821) James ex- 
plains this as follows : " In that part of 
Warwickshire where Shakespeare was 
educated, and in the neighbouring parts 
of Northamptonshire, the shepherds 
and other boys dig up the turf with 
their knives to represent a sort of im- 
perfect chessboard. It consists of a 
square, sometimes only a foot in dia- 
meter, sometimes three or four yards. 
Within this is another square, every 
side of which is parallel to the ex- 
ternal square, and these squares are 
joined by lines di-awn from each corner 
of both squares and the middle of each 
line. One party or player, has wooden 
pegs, the other stones, which they move 
in such a manner as to take up each 



MOR 



177 



MOB 



other's men, as they are called, and the 
area of the inner square is called the 
pound, in which the men taken up are 
impounded. These figures are always cut 
upon the green turf, or leys as they are 
called, or upon the grass at the end of 
ploughed lands, and in rainy seasons 
never fail to be choked up with mud." 
Cotgrave, Douce, Strutt, Wright and 
others describe various modifications of 
the game which in some forms is a very 
old one. 

inorns=dance. The morris dance, or 
Moorish dance, was used on festival 
occasions, particularly on May Day and 
other seasons of great licence. HV. 
II, 4, 25. It appears that a certain set 
of personages were usually represented 
in the May Day morris-dance, who have 
been thus enumerated. 1. The Bavian 
or fool. 2. Maid Marian or the Queen 
of May, the celebrated mistress of Robin 
Hood. 3. The friar, that is, Friar Tuck, 
chaplain to the same personage. 4. 
Her gentleman-ushei; or paramour. 5. 
The hobby-horse. 6. The clown. 7. A 
gentleman. 8. The Maypole. 9. Tom 
Piper, 10, 11. Foreigners, perhaps Moris- 
cos. 12. The domestic fool or jester. 
It is not to be supposed that all these 
personages were always there, but 
allusions to all, or most of them, are 
found in various places. It is difficult 
to trace any part of these dances clearly 
to Moorish origin, and the presumption 
is chiefly founded upon the names 
Morris and Morisco. Nares. 

morris pike. A formidable weapon used 
often by the English mariners and some- 
times by soldiers. Supposed to be of 
Moorish origin, hence the name. Err. 
IV, 3, 28. 

mort. French for death ; hence a hunt- 
ing term for a certain flourish or notes 
blown at the death of the deer. Wint. 
I, 2, 118. 

mortal. In the passage mortal in folly 
(As. II, 4, 56), this word has given the 
commentators some trouble. Johnson 
explains it as abounding in folly, the 
word mortal being an English pro- 



vincialism for much or very, as mortal 
tall, mortal little. Other meanings 
have been suggested, but none are 
satisfactory, and Staunton thinks that 
there is a meaning that we have not 
yet discovered. Rosalind's reply: "Thou 
speakest wiser than thou art ware of, ' ' 
would seem to indicate a deeper meaning. 
The expression, human mortals, 
(Mids. II, 1, 101) has given rise to a 
question as to whether the fairies, with 
Oberon and Titania, were mortal, like 
men, or immortal, and the argument 
has been conducted with some bitter- 
ness. In line 135 Titania speaks of a 
human female, a votaress of her order, 
who ' ' being mortal of that boy did die, ' ' 
which would seem to imply that Titania 
herself was not mortal. But this ques- 
tion, like everything else connected 
with these creations of the imagination, 
is unsettled, and will no doubt remain so. 

morrow. To-morrow. Mids. I, 1, 223 ; 
Rom. II, 2, 186. 

mort de ma vie. French for death of 
my life ; a common French oath. HV. 
Ill, 5, 11. 

mort=du=vinaigre. Literally, death of 
vinegar ; a ridiculous and probably 
meaningless oath used by Parolles. 
All's. II, 3, 50. 

mort Dieu. French for death of God; 
same as 'Sdeath, which is a contraction 
for God's death. 2HVI. I, 1, 123. 

mortified. 1. Dead ; insensible ; numb. 
Lr. II, 3, 15 ; Gees. II, 1, 324. 
2. Ascetic ; retired from the world. 
Mcb. V, 2, 5 ; LLL. I, 1, 28. 

The phrase, the mortified m,an (Mcb. 
V, 2, 5), may mean either a hermit, i.e., 
one who is dead to the world and its 
passions, or a man who is physically 
dead. The Clarendon Press ed. takes 
the latter view, and adds: "If 'the 
mortified man ' really means the dead, 
the word bleeding in the former line 
may have been suggested by the well- 
known superstition that the corpse of a 
murdered man bled afresh in the pre- 
sence of the murderer. It is true that 
this interpretation gives an extravagant 



MOB 



178 



MOT 



sense, but we have to choose between 
extravagance and feebleness." 

Mortimer, Edmund, dr. p. Earl of March. 
IHIV. 

Mortimer, Lady, dr.p. Daughter to 
Glendower. IHIV. 

Mortimer, Sir Hugh, dr.p. Uncle to the 
Duke of York. 3HVI. 

Mortimer, Sir John, dr.p. Uncle to the 
Duke of York. 3HVI. 

Morton, John, dr.p. Bishop of Ely. R,III. 

Morton, dr.p. Servant to the Earl of 
Northumberland. 2HIV. 

mose. " To mose in the chine, a disorder 
in horses, by some called mourning in 
the chine." Nares. Shr. Ill, 2, 51. 

mot. Motto , device. Schm. Motto, or 
word, as it was sometimes called. Rolfe. 
Lucr. 830. These definitions seem to 
me scarcely to meet the case. That the 
word mot is French for the English 
term word is true, but here it evidently 
has a sinister meaning. Cotgrave gives 
as one of the definitions of mot : a quip ^ 
cut, nij}, frutnpe, scoffe, jeast. Here 
it evidently signifies a mark of disgrace. 

Moth, dr.p. A fairy, Mids, 

Moth, dr.p. Page to Armado, LLL. 

mother. The disease hysterica passio. 
Lr, II, 4, 56. 

The disease called the Tnother or 
hxisterica passio in Sh. time was not 
thought peculiar to women. Percy. 

The passage in Cym. Ill, 4, 51 : Some 
jay of Italy Whose mother was her 
painting, is one of the crtices of the 
play. Johnson explains it as: "The 
creature not of nature, but of painting. ' ' 
In support of this, reference has been 
made to Lr, II, 2, 60, a tailor made 
thee. And in Cym. IV, 2, 82, we find : 

No, nor thy tailor, rascal. 
Who is thy grandfather ; he made 

those clothes, 
Which, as it seems, make thee. 

Clarke and Wright say : " If the text 
be right, the meaning probably is, 
whose mother aided and abetted her 
daughter in her trade of seduction." 
A rather forced gloss, of which Ingleby 
properly remarks: "By no ingenuity 



is it possible to make ' whose mother 
was her painting ' ' mean ' ' whose mother 
was her bawd.' " 

Various emendations have been pro- 
posed. Thus, Theobald read "plant- 
ing" for "painting;" Hanmer read 
"feathers" for "mother;" and the 
Collier MS. corrector read: "Who 
smothers her with painting." Hallo- 
well wrote a pamphlet in condemnation 
of this emendation, and Singer ("Shake- 
speare Vindicated," page 307) makes 
some quite severe, though erroneous 
remarks. The emendation is quite as 
good as any that has been proposed, 
but Johnson's explanation seems to 
remove any need for alteration. 

moth of peace. A mere idler ; one who 
consumes, but does not work. 0th, I, 
3, 257, 

motion, n, 1. Motive; that which makes 
to move. Cor. II, 1, 56, 

2. Impulse; tendency of the mind or 
feelings ; will, Meas. I, 4, 59 ; Merch, 
V, 1, 86 ; John IV, 2, 255 ; 0th, I, 3, 9.5, 

3. Offers ; requests, Meas. V, 1, 541 ; 
Err, I, 1, 60 ; Cor. II, 2, 57. 

4. A puppet show, and also a single 
puppet, Lucr, 1326; Wint, IV, 3, 103; 
Gent, II, 1, 100, 

The passage in Meas, III, 2, 118, has 
given rise to some discussion, but the 
best authorities define motion there as 
puppet. See interpret. 

In Meas, III, 1, 120, the expression, 
this warm motion, does not seem to 
refer wholly to the mere movement of 
the limbs and organs. The term motion, 
generally applied to puppets, etc, is 
here used metaphorically to signify the 
human body, 

JJnshaked of m.otion. Cses, III, 1, 
70, Malone, with whom Dyce agrees, 
says " unshaked by suit or solicitation, 
of which the object is to move the 
person addressed," Craik explains as 
"unshaken in his motion," but this is 
not in accordance with the facts, the 
pole star being supposed to have no 
motion. The obvious meaning is " un- 
moving," the of here having the sense 



MOT 



179 



MTJC 



of by, as in Hml, I, 1, 25, and II, 1, 64 : 
And thus do we of tvisdoin and of 
reach. 
motion, v. To propose ; to counsel. IHVI. 

1, 3, 63. 

motive. 1. Cause; one who moves. Tim. 

V, 4, 27; Ant. 11,2,96. 
2. Instrument ; that which mo ves. All's. 

ly, 4, 20 ; Troil. IV, 5, 57. 
motley, n. 1. The parti-colored dress 

worn by fools ; hence, sometimes used 

for the fool himself. As. II, 7, 34, 58 ; 

do. Ill, 3, 79 ; Lr. I, 4, 160. 
motley, adj. Of different colors ; so-called 

because spotted ; originally applied to 

curdled milk. Skeat. As. II, 7, 43. A 

long motley coat, guarded with yellow. 

HVIII., Prol. 16. Yellow was the fool's 

color. See guarded. 
motley -minded. Foolish; having the 

mind of a motley or fooL As. V, 4, 41. 
mould. Earth ; men of tnould = mortal 

men, i.e., made of the earth. HV. Ill, 

2, 23. "Mr. Grant White is altogether 
mistaken when he says that ' a man of 
moxdd is a man of large frame, and so 
of strength, of prowess.' " Dyce. The 
word, in the sense we have given, was 
in frequent use among the old poets. 
If Nym, Bardolph and Pistol had been 
men of strength and prowess they would 
not have asked mercy of Fluellen. 

Mouldy, dn.p. A recruit. 2HIV. 

Mountanto. See montanto or montant. 
Beatrice calls Benedick Signer Moun- 
tanto to indicate that she considered 
him a mere fencer. Ado. I, 1, 30. 

mountebank, n. One who mounts on a 
bench (banco) to advertise his nostrums 
at fairs and street corners. Err. V, 1, 
238 ; Hml. IV, 7, 142. 

mountebank, v. To impose upon after 
the manner of a quack. Cor. Ill, 2, 132. 

mouse, n. A term of endearment very 
common in old authors and therefore 
presumably in frequent use in Sh. time. 
Hml. Ill, 4, 183. 

mouse, V. To tear in pieces. John II, 
1, 354. 

mouse=hunt. A weasel, sometimes a 
stoat. As all animals of this family 



are believed to be very amorous (see 
ante, fitchew), the name was often 
applied to men who were inclined to 
run after women. Some think that the 
origin of the word was mouse, used as 
a term of endearment (see mouse), 
hence mouse-hunt = a hunter after 
dears. Rom. IV, 4, 11. 

mouth, n. Voice or cry. Mids. IV, 1, 122; 
IHVI. II, 4, 12. Not the bark as some 
corns, explain it. 

mouth, 17. To join mouths; to kiss. Meas. 
Ill, 2, 194. 

mouthed, adj. Open ; gaping. Sonn. 
LXXVII, 6 ; IHIV. I, 3, 97. 

mow. A grimace. Tp. IV, 1, 47. 

moy. A word originated by Pistol from 
a misunderstanding of the French moi 
(me) which he supposed to be something 
valuable offered as ransom by the 
French soldier. HV. IV, 4, 14. John- 
son thought that by moy Pistol under- 
stood a piece of money, probably a 
moidore ; Douce laughs at this and 
suggests muy or muid, a French 
measure for corn. But if Pistol did not 
understand moi it is very unKkely that 
he would have understood muid. Be- 
sides, hQ8iBks,it pardonnez moi (pardon 
me) means a ton of moys. It is evident 
that this word, like much else that 
Pistol utters in this passage, is mere 
gibberish, and that is where the humor 
lies. 

Mowbray, Thomas, dr. p. Duke of Nor- 
folk, nil. 

Mowbray, Lord, dr. p. In league against 
Henry IV. 2HIV. 

muck=water. A word of uncertain mean- 
ing. Mock-ivater in the Fl. "A jocular 
term of reproach used by the Host, in 
the Merry Wives of Windsor, to the 
French Dr. Caius. Considering the 
profession of the Doctor and the coarse- 
ness of the Host, there can be no doubt, 
I think, that he means to allude to the 
mockery of judging of diseases by the 
water or urine, which was the practice 
of all doctors, regular and irregular, 
at that time, and the subject of much, 
not ill-placed, jocularity. Mock-water 



MUD 



180 



MUS 



must mean, therefore, ' you pretending 
water-doctor.^ A very few speeches 
before, the same speaker calls Dr. Caius 
King Urinal, and twice in the following 
scene Sir Hugh threatens to knock his 
urinals about his costard or head. Can 
any thing be more clear ? Mr. Steevens' 
interpretation, relating to the water of 
a jewel, would be good if anything had 
led to the mention of a Jewell, or the 
alluding to it." Nares. See cride- 
game. 

muddy=mettled. Dull-spirited; irresolute. 
Hml. II, 3, 594. cf. mettle. 

mulled. Insipid ; flat. Cor. IV, 5, 240. 

multipotent. Almighty. Troil. IV, 5, 129. 

niutnble=news. A tell-tale; a prattler. 
LLL. V, 2, 464. 

muniments. Expedients ; instruments. 
Cor. I, 1, 122. 

mural. Wall. Mids. V, 1, 208. In the 
Fl. tnorall ; changed by Pope to mural. 
White says that "the use of 'mural' 
for ' wall ' is an anomally in English, 
and is too infelicitous to be regarded as 
one of Shakespeare's daring feats of 
language." In his first edition he re- 
tained moral; in his later edition he 
adopted the emendation of Collier's 
MS. and gave wall down. Hanmer 
read mure all down. Mure, meaning 
wall, is found in 2HIV. IV, 4, 119, and 
the compound immure, in Troil. , Prol. 
8. Mural is properly an adjective. 

murdering=piece. A cannon loaded with 
case and sometimes with chain shot. 
Hml. IV, 5, 95. 

mure. A waU. 2HIV. IV, 4, 119. 

murmur. Rumour. ''Twas fresh in 
murmur = was a recent rumour. Tw. 
I, 2, 32. 

murrion. Aflflicted with the murrain. 
Mids. II, 1, 97. 

Muses. According to the earliest writers 
the Muses were the inspiring goddesses 
of song and, according to later notions, 
divinities presiding over the different 
kinds of poetry and over the arts and 
sciences. As regards their parentage, 
the most common notion was that they 
were the daughters of Jupiter and 



Mnemosyne and born in Pieria, at the 
foot of Mount Olympus. They were 
worshipped chiefly on Mount Helicon, 
in Pieria, and on Mount Parnassus. 
Near the latter mountain was the 
famous Castalian Spring, weU known 
as sacred to the Muses. They were nine 
in number, their names and attributes 
being as follows : 1. Calliope, the Muse 
of epic poetry, represented with a tablet 
and stylus, or reed pen, and sometimes 
with a roll of paper. 2. Clio, the Muse 
of history ; appears in a sitting atti- 
tude, with an open roll of paper, or an 
open chest of books. 3. Euterpe, the 
Muse of lyric poetry, with a flute. 4. 
Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy, with 
a tragic mask, the club of Hercules, or 
a sword ; her head is surrounded with 
vine leaves, and she wears the cothurnus 
or buskin, such as were worn by tragic 
actors. 5. Terpsichore, the Muse of 
choral dance and song ; appears with 
a lyre and the plectrum, an instrument 
for striking the lyre. 6. Erato, the 
Muse of erotic poetry and mimic imita- 
tion ; sometimes also has the lyre. 7. 
Polymnia or Polyhymnia, the Muse of 
the sublime hymn ; usually appears 
without any attribute, in a pensive or 
meditating attitude. 8. Urania, the 
Muse of astronomy ; with a staff point- 
ing to a globe. 9. Thalia, the Muse of 
comedy and of merry and idyllic poetry; 
appears with a comic mask, a shepherd's 
staff, or a wreath of ivy. Sometimes 
the Muses are seen with feathers on 
their heads, alluding to their contests 
with the Sirens. See Sirens. None of 
the Muses is referred to by name in 
Sh. The nine Muses are referred to in 
Mids. V, 1, 52. References to Muse in 
this sense are found in HV., Prol. 1, 
and 0th. II, 1, 128. 
muset, ) The opening in a fence or 
musit. [ thicket through which a hare 
or other beast of sport is accustomed 
to pass. Nares. Ven. 683. In Kins. 
Ill, 1, the word does not mean "hiding- 
place," but the opening through which 
the hiding-place is reached. 



MUS 



181 



MYS 



music. Of the phrase " Let him ply his 
music " (Hml. II, 1, 73) no quite satis- 
factory explanation has been given. 
Clarke explains it: "Let him conduct 
himself in any style and at any rate he 
chooses. ' ' Hudson : ' ' Let him fiddle his 
secrets out." Schm. : " Apply himself 
to his music." 

muss. A scramble; a row. Ant. Ill, 11, 91. 
This word is classed as colloquial or 
slang, and in Farmer's " Slang and Its 
Analogues " it is set down as American. 
Another instance of the survival, on 
this side of the Atlantic, of Elizabethan 
words which have fallen into disuse in 
England. It is a common colloquial 
word with us. 

Mustardseed, dr.p. A fairy. Mids. 

mutes. Actors who appear on the stage 
but do not speak. Hml. Ill, 2, 141 ; 
do. V, 2, 346. 

mutine, n. A rebel ; a mutineer. John 
11,1,378; Hml. V, 2, 6. 

mutine, v. To rebel. Hml. Ill, 4, 83. 

mutiner. A mutineer. Cor. I, 1, 254. 

Mutius, dr.jj. Son to Titus Andronicus. 
Tit. 

mutton. 1. A sheep, i.e., the animal 
itself. Merch. I, 3, 168. 

2. The flesh of sheep. Tw. I, 3, 130 ; 2HIV. 
V, 1, 28. In the passage in T w. I, 3, 129 : 

Sir And. : Faith, I can cut a caper. 

Sir Toby : And I can cut the mutton to't, 
there is evidently a pun on caper as a 
sauce, and caper as a frolicsome skip or 
spring. It is evident from this that 
mutton and caper sauce together are at 
least as old as the time of Sh. 

3. A woman, especially in the carnal 
sense, but not necessarily with an evil 
meaning. Thus, most glossaries define 
laced tmitton (Gent. I, 1, 102) as a cant 
expression for a courtesan, and a quibble 
is suggested — courtesans being notori- 
ously fond of finery and also frequently 
subjected to the whip. Thus Du Bartas 
speaks of "Lacing with lashes their 
unpitied skin. ' ' But surely in applying 
this term to the chaste and faithful 
Julia, Speed never intended a sug- 
gestion of evil. The truth seems to be 



that many of these cant phrases with 
objectionable meanings are good ordin- 
ary terms degraded to euphemisms. 
Myrmidons, The. An Achaean race in 
Thessaly, over whom Achilles ruled and 
who accompanied him to Troy. Troil. 
V, 7, 1. They are said to have inhabited 
originally the island of ^gina, and to 
have emigrated with Peleus into Thes- 
saly. Of the origin of their name two 
accounts are given. One is that they 
are descended from Myrmidon, the son 
of Jupiter and Eurymedusa, daughter 
of Clitos, whom Jupiter deceived in the 
disguise of an ant. Her son was for 
this reason called Myrmidon, from the 
Greek word for an ant. Another ac- 
count is that Jupiter, designing ^gina 
for the kingdom of his son, yEacus, fur- 
nished the originally uninhabited island 
with people by changing ants into men. 

The speech of the clown in Tw. II, 3, 
29, that the Myrmidons are no bottle- 
ale houses, is evidently intended for big 
words without any meaning, and has 
caused a great waste of critical ingenuity. 

Our word myrmidon, which signifies 
a devoted, but unscrupulous, adherent, 
is derived from the name of these 
followers of Achilles. 
mystery. 1. A secret. Cor. IV, 2, 35; 
Hml. Ill, 2, 382. 

2. A trade. In Sh, time, and even down 
to the present day, even the most com- 
mon trade is called a mystery. Th us, the 
shoemaker's trade is spoken of as "the 
art and mystery of shoemaking." In 
Sh. wi'itings we find the term applied 
to the trade of the hangman (Meas. Ill, 

2, 30), and even to thieving (Tim. IV, 

3, 458), and to the business of the bawd 
(0th. IV, 2, 30), In the latter passage 
the expression: Your mystery, your 
mystery — betake you to your trade, 

3. Secret rites. Lr, I, 1, 112. These 
rites were practised only by certain in- 
itiated persons, and formed the most 
solemn modes of ancient worship. They 
consisted of purifications, sacrificial 
offerings, processions, hymns, dances, 
dramatic performances and the like. 



NAG 



182 



NAK 




AG. A horse ; usually applied 
to a small horse, but not 
necessarily a poor or worth- 
less horse as Schm. has it. 
The word conies from neigh, the sound 
made by a horse. It would seem that 
originally it did not even imply a small 
horse, but simply a horse. In the " Gest 
Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy ' ' 

. we find "He neyt as a nagge." This 
does not seem to imply that the word 
was used in the sense of poor, or even 
small. The word occurs thrice in Sh. , 
and in each case with a qualifying 
adjective, two of which denote in- 
feriority. IHIV. Ill, 1, 135; 2mV. 
II, 4, 205 ; Ant. Ill, 10, 10. 

Schm. gives as a second meaning : 
' ' Term of contempt for a loose woman ; ' ' 
but this is scarcely correct. In both 
instances in which Sh. uses the word in 
this connection, it will be found that 
the expression of contempt is to be 
found in the accompanying adjective 
and not in the mere word nag, and in 
one of the instances (2HIV. II, 4, 205) 
it is very evident that the speaker uses 
bombastic language which he does not 
understand. See Galloiuay. 

Naiades. A general name for the nymphs, 
or female divinities, who presided over 
fresh water, whether of rivers, lakes, 
brooks or springs. Tp. IV, 1, 128. See 
Nyynphs. 

nail. 1. The horny growth at the ends 
of the fingers and toes. Tp. II, 2, 172 ; 
Err. IV, 4, 107, and numerous other 
passages. 

2. A spike of wood or metal. Gent. 
II, 4, 193 ; All's. II, 2, 26. The original 
idea conveyed by the word nail was a 
piercer. In regard to the expression 
"dead as nail in door" (2HIV. V, 3, 
126), Steevens says: "This proverbial 
expression is often er used than under- 
stood. The door-nail is the nail on 
which, in ancient doors, the knocker 



strikes. It is therefore used as a com- 
parison to any one irrecoverably dead, 
one who has faUen (as Virgil says) 
multa morte, that is, with abundant 
death, such as iteration of strokes on 
the head would naturally produce." 
This explanation is interesting and 
ingenious, but to us it seems too subtle 
and far-fetched for an everyday pro- 
verb. Doors in the olden time were not 
the light paneled affairs now in use, 
but heavy and battened so as to resist 
the blows even of a hammer. The old 
door of the Tolbooth in Edinburgh re- 
sisted the fiercest assaults of the Porteus 
mob, who used sledge hammers and 
crowbars, and was only reduced by fire. 
(See Heart of Mid-Lothian.) In the 
time of Sh. the nails used in common 
doors were hand-made of wrought iron, 
and were bent over or clinched so that 
their usefulness as nails was destroyed 
until re-forged. They were therefore 
mechanically dead. There were many 
such nails in the door. But the proverb 
is one of those common and often 
meaningless comparisons which the 
common people are apt to use. We 
have heard "dead as a stone," "dead 
as a hammer," etc. See hob-nail and 
handsaw. See also "Shakespearean 
Notes and New Readings. " 
3. A measure equal to 2}^ inches (the 
one-sixteenth of a yard). Shr. IV, 3, 109. 
naked. 1. Without clothing. Wint. Ill, 
2, 212. Naked bed (Ven. 397); "a 
person undressed and in bed was form- 
erly said to be ' in naked bed. ' It may 
be observed that down to a certain 
period those who were in bed were 
literally naked, no night linen being 
worn." Nares. 

2. Drawn ; unsheathed. Err. IV, 4, 148 ; 
Rom. I, 1, 39. 

3. Unarmed. 2HVI. Ill, 2, 234 ; 0th. 
V, 2, 234. 

4. Destitute. Hml. IV, 7, 44. 



NAR 



183 



NAT 



Narcissus. A beautiful youth, who was 
wholly inaccessible to the feeling of 
love, and the nymph. Echo, who was 
enamoured of him, died of grief. 
One of his rejected lovers, however, 
prayed to Nemesis to punish him 
for his unfeeling heart. So one day, 
when Narcissus was tired with the 
chase, he lay down to rest by a stream 
in the wood. Stooping to drink, he 
saw his own image in the water, and 
Nemesis caused him to fall in love with 
it. But as he could not approach or 
embrace the object of his affection, he 
gradually pined away arid his corpse 
was metamorphosed into the flower 
which bears his name. In the land of 
Shades he gazes continually at his own 
image in the river Styx, Ant. II, 5, 96. 

Nathaniel, Sir, dr. p. A curate. LLL. 

native, n. Origin ; source. Cor. Ill, 1, 129. 

native, acZy. Real. Native act and figure 
of my heart = my real thoughts. 0th. 

1, 1, 62. 

Which native she did owe (LLL. I, 

2, 111) = which she naturally possessed. 
Native seems to be an adverb here. 

natural. An idiot. Tp. Ill, 2, 37 ; As. 

I, 2, 52 ; Rom. II, 4, 96. 
nature. 1. Life. All's. IV, 3, 272 ; Mcb. 
1, 5, 51 ; Hml. I, 5, 12. 
2. Innate affection of the heart and 
mind. Hml. 1, 5, 82 ; Mcb. I, 5, 46. 

The sentence, One touch of nature 
makes the whole world kin (Troil. Ill, 

3, 175), is quoted by thousands who do 
not know the occasion of its utterance 
and, indeed, scarcely know that it is 
from Shakespeare. Therefore, it is not 
to be wondered at that it is generally 
misunderstood. In an article in the 
Galaxy for Feb., 1877, Grant White 
calls attention to its true meaning, 
which is : " There is one point on which 
all men are alike, one touch of human 
nature which shows the kindred of all 
mankind — that they slight familiar 
merit and prefer trivial novelty. * * * 
It has come to be always quoted with 
the meaning implied in the following 
indication of emphasis : ' One touch of 



nature makes the whole world kin.' 
Shakespeare wrote no such sentimental 
twaddle. Least of all did he write it in 
this play, in which his pen ' pierces to 
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, 
and of the joints and marrow, and is a 
discerner of the thoughts and intents of 
the heart.' The line which has been 
thus perverted into an exposition of 
sentimental brotherhood among all man- 
kind, is, on the contrary, one of the 
most cynical utterances of an undis- 
putable moral truth, disparaging to the 
nature of all mankind, that ever came 
from Shakespeare's pen. * * * The 
meaning [as shown by the context] is 
too manifest to need, or indeed, admit 
a word of comment, and it is brought 
out by this emphasis : One touch of 
nature makes the ivhole world kin'' — 
that one touch of their common failing 
being an uneasy love of novelty. Was 
ever poet's or sage's meaning so per- 
verted, so reversed ! And yet it is hope- 
less to think of bringing about a change 
in the general use of this line and a cessa- 
tion of its perversion to sentimental 
purposes, not to say an application of 
it as the scourge for which it was 
wrought ; just as it is hopeless to think 
of changing by any demonstration of 
unfitness and unmeaningness a phrase 
in general use — the reason being that 
the mass of users are utterly thought- 
less and careless of the right or the 
wrong, the fitness or the unfitness, of 
the words that come from their mouths, 
except that they serve their purpose 
for the moment. That done, what care 
they ? And what can we expect, when 
even the Globe edition of Shakespeare's 
works has upon its very title-page and 
its cover, a globe with a band around it, 
on which is written this line in its per- 
verted sense, that sense being illustrated, 
enforced and deepened into the general 
mind by the union of the band-ends by 
clasped hands. I absolve, of course, 
the Cambridge editors of the guilt of 
this twaddling misuse of Shakespeare's 
line; it was a mere publisher's con- 



NAU 



184 



NEA 



trivance ; but I am somewhat surprised 
that they even should have ever allowed 
it such sanction as it has from its appear- 
ance on the same title-page with their 
names." 

But the most surprising case of in- 
attention to these obvious points, which 
are familiar to all close readers of Sh., 
occurs in " The Henry Irving Shake- 
speare." This admirable ed. was, as 
some of our readers are no doubt aware, 
prepared with special reference to 
dramatic production, either on the stage 
or in private readings. This, of course, 
involves the omission of certain portions 
of the text which, if retained, would 
make the play too long, and we are told 
that "the passages placed between 
brackets are those which may, without 
any detriment to the story or action of 
the play, be left out." 

In the standard text the passage 
under consideration reads as follows : 

One touch of nature makes the whole 
world kin. 

That all with one consent praise new- 
born gawds, 

Though they are made and moulded 
of things past, 

And give to dust that is a little gilt 

More laud than gilt o'er-dusted. 
Now, can it be believed that in this 
passage all the lines after kin are marked 
for omission, thus striking out the very 
keynote of this part of the speech of 
Ulysses and literally putting in his 
mouth a meaning the very opposite to 
that intended ? 

Verily, this is equalled only by the 
preacher who chose for his text a well- 
known passage from the Gospel accord- 
ing to St. Matthew: "Hang all the 
law and the prophets ! " 

It is very certain that Sir Henry 
Irving never read the proof of this part 
of the edition which has been published 
under his name. 
naught. Improper ; licentious. Hml. 
Ill, 2, 157. 

A meaning still retained in our 
modern word naughty. Do wden quotes 
from "Grace Abounding," where Bun- 



yan declares that he never " so much as 
attempted to be naught with women." 
nave. The navel. The expression in Mcb. 

I, 2, 22 : Till he unseamed him from 
the nave to the chaps, has been the 
subject of some discussion. A blow 
which would make a cut " from the 
navel to the jaws " seems to be a rather 
awkward one ; "from the chaps to the 
navel" would seem to be the more 
usual stroke. Consequently, Warburton 
would read nape. But these reversals 
of direction are not unusual in Sh. , cf. 
As. Ill, 5, 7, he that dies and lives. 
With the old two-handed sword, strokes 
which would have "unseamed" from 
the chaps to the navel were not un- 
known. 

nayward. Towards nay; inclining to a 
negative. Wint. II, 1, 64. 

nayword. A watchword. Wiv. II, 2, 131. 
In Tw. II, 3, 146, we find nayword in 
most modern editions, but in Fl. and 
some of the older editions it is ay word. 
Here, however, it evidently means by- 
word or laughing-stock — not watch- 
word, as Schm. has it. 

neaf, ) The hand. Mids. IV, 1, 20 ; 

neif. f 2HIV. II, 4, 200. 

near. To come near = to touch in a 
tender spot. IHIV. 1, 2, 14 ; Rom. 1, 5, 24. 

near=Iegged. Knock-kneed. Shr. Ill, 2, 58. 

neat, n. Horned cattle are known as 
neat. Hence, neaVs leather = leather 
made from the hide of an ox. Such 
leather is especially fitted for making 
the soles of shoes ; hence the expression : 
As proper men as ever trod upon 
neaVs leather. Caes. I, 1, 29 ; also Tp. 

II, 2, 72. 

neat, adj. Foppish. IHIV. I, 3, 33. 
The meaning of the word neat in the 
sentence. You neat slave, strike ! (Lr. 
II, 2, 45) has given rise to much dis- 
cussion. Steevens, followed by Dyce, 
Schmidt, Wright, Moberly and others, 
defines it as foppish, finical, Johnson 
suggested that it meant "mere slave, 
very slave," and Walker carries out 
this idea by the definition, pure, un- 
mixed, just as unmixed liquor is to-day 



NEB 



185 



NEP 



spoken of as "neat." Staunton gave 
to neat a meaning connecting it with 
neat cattle, and suggesting that Oswald 
was to be graded with cattle. Furness 
is inclined to accept Walker's interpre- 
tation, which is certainly the most 
forcible. Rolfe objects to Johnson's 
definition (as modified by Walker) that 
Sh. nowhere else has neat = pure, un- 
mixed, but, as we have often noted in 
this glossary, such an objection carries 
very little weight. Sh. writings are 
full of instances of the single use or 
mode of use of a word. 

neb. Now signifies the beak of a bird, 
but Sh. probably uses it in the Scotch 
sense in which it means the nose in 
particular, but sometimes the face or 
countenance. Wint. I, 2, 183. 

necessitied. So poor as to urgently need 
aid. All's. V, 3, 85. 

needful. Full of need ; wanting supplies. 
3HVI. II, 1, 147. 

needly. Absolutely. Rom. Ill, 2, 117. 

neeld. A needle. Mids. Ill, 2, 204 ; John 
V, 2, 157. 

neeze. To sneeze. Mids. II, 1, 56. 

neglection. Want of care; disregard. 
IHVI. IV, 3, 49 ; Per. Ill, 3, 30. 

negligence. Disregard ; contempt. Hml. 
IV, 5, 134. See spied. 

Ne intelligis? Latin for do you not 
understand? LLL. V, 1, 28. Ne intelli- 
gis in Fl ; anne intelligis in some eds. 

Nemean lion. The valley of Nemea, 
between Cleonse and Phlius, was in- 
habited by a monstrous lion, the off'- 
spring of Typhon and Echidna. Burys- 
theus ordered Hercules to bring him 
the skin of the monster. After using 
in vain his club and arrows against the 
lion, he strangled the animal with his 
own hands. He returned, carrying the 
dead lion on his shoulders, but Eurys- 
theus was so frightened at the gigantic 
strength of the hero that he ordered 
him in future to deliver the account of 
his exploits outside the town. The 
slaying of the Nemean lion was the first 
of the twelve labors of Hercules. LLL. 
IV, 1,90; Hml. 1,4,83. 



Nemesis. A Greek goddess, who is usually 
described as the daughter of Night, 
though some call her a daughter of 
Erebus or of Oceanus. She is a per- 
sonification of the moral reverence for 
law, of the natural fear of committing 
a culpable action, and hence of con- 
science. From this arose the idea of 
her being an avenging and punishing 
fate, who, like Justice, sooner or later 
overtakes the sinner. She is usually 
represented in works of art as a virgin 
divinity. In the more ancient works 
she seems to have resembled Aphrodite 
or Venus, whereas in the later ones she 
was more grave and serious. IHVI. 
IV, 7, 78. 

nephew. Properly the son of a brother 
or sister, but used by old writers with 
great latitude. Thus, in IHVI. II, 5, 
64, it signifies cousin ; in 0th. 1, 1, 112 
= grandchild. See niece. 

Neptune. Referred to quite often in the 
plays, and, by a sort of metonomy, the 
name is frequently used instead of the 
ocean itself, as in Tp. V, 1, 35, and 
elsewhere. Neptune was chief marine 
divinity of the Romans, who identified 
him with the Greek Poseidon and trans- 
ferred to him all the legends and attri- 
butes of that god. Poseidon or Neptune 
was the son of Saturn and Rhea, and 
was therefore a brother of Jupiter, 
Pluto, Juno, Vesta and Ceres. It was 
determined by lot that he should rule 
over the seas. His palace was in the 
depths of the sea near ^gae, in Euboea, 
where he kept his horses with brazen 
hoofs and golden manes. With these 
horses he rides in a chariot over the 
waves of the sea, which become smooth 
as he approaches, and the monsters of 
the deep recognise him and play around 
his chariot. In conjunction with Apollo 
he built the walls of Troy for Laomedon. 
Laomedon refused to give these gods 
the stipulated reward and even dismissed 
them with threats. Thereupon Neptune 
sent a marine monster which was on 
the point of devouring Laomedon 's 
daughter when it was killed by Hercules. 



N£R 



186 



NER 



As a consequence Neptune sided with 
the Greeks in the war with Troy. He 
was regarded as the creator of the 
horse (see Minerva) and horse and 
chariot races were held in his honor on 
the Corinthian isthmus. In works of 
art Neptune may be easily recognised 
by his attributes, the dolphin, the horse 
or the trident. His figure does not 
present the majestic calm which charac- 
terises his brother Jupiter, but as the 
state of the sea is varying, so also is the 
god represented sometimes in violent 
agitation and sometimes in a state of 
repose. 

There is no legend that he ever 
metamorphosed himself into a ram, 
though he did assume the form of a 
horse in order to deceive Ceres (Demeter ) . 
The statement of Florizel, in Wint. IV, 
4, 28, is probably based on the story 
that Neptune was concealed among a 
flock of lambs to save him from being 
devoured by his father, Saturn. See 
Saturn. A well in the neighbour- 
hood of Mantinea, in Arcadia, where 
this is said to have happened, was 
believed from this circumstance to have 
been called "Arne," or the Lamb's 
Well. 
Nereides. The marine nymphs of the Medi- 
terranean, in contradistinction to the 
Naides or the nymphs of fresh water, 
and the Oceanides or the nymphs of the 
great ocean. There were fifty of them, 
daughters of Nereus and Doris. Their 
names are not the same in all writers ; 
one of the most celebrated was Thetis, 
the mother of Achilles. They are des- 
cribed as lovely divinities, dwelling 
with their father at the bottom of the 
sea, and were believed to be propitious 
to all sailors, and especially to the 
Argonauts. They were worshipped in 
several parts of Greece, but more 
especially in her seaport towns. The 
epithets given them by the poets refer 
partly to their beauty and partly to 
their place of abode. They are fre- 
quently represented in works of art, 
and commonly as youthful, beautiful 



and naked maidens, and they are often 
grouped with Tritons and other marine 
beings. Sometimes they appear on 
gems as half maidens and half fishes. 
Ant. II, 2, 211. See Nymphs. 

Nerissa, dr.p. Waiting-maid to Portia. 
Merch. 

Nero. An infamous Roman emperor. He 
was the son of the Cn. Domitius Aheno- 
barbus and of Agrippina, daughter of 
Germanicus Caesar and sister of Cali- 
gula. Born December 15th, a.d. 37; when 
sixteen he married Octa via, the daughter 
of Claudius and Messalina. His mother 
had married her uncle, the Emperor 
Claudius, and on the death of her hus- 
band she secured the succession for her 
son, to the exclusion of Britannicus, 
the son of Claudius. Nero and Agrip- 
pina soon quarreled, however; the 
mother threatened to take sides with 
Britannicus and place him on the throne, 
and Nero caused his rival to be poisoned. 
Afterwards he caused his mother to be 
assassinated. This is referred to in Hml. 
Ill, 2, 412, Upon this passage Dowden, 
in his edition of Hml., remarks : "Per- 
haps the coincidences are accidental, 
that Agrippina was the wife of Claudius, 
was accused of poisoning a husband, 
and of living in incest with a brother." 
After this the history of Nero became a 
mere succession of crimes. He caused 
the deaths of the most eminent men in 
Rome, amongst them being Seneca, the 
famous philosopher. The burning of 
Rome is generally laid to his charge, 
and, to divert the odium from himself, 
he tried to throw it on the Christians, 
many of whom were put to death in a 
most cruel manner. It is said that 
while the city was burning he played 
on a musical instrument, and this is 
alluded to in IHVI. I, 4, 95. Against 
such a monster a revolt was sure to 
come. He was driven from his palace and 
committed suicide by stabbing in the 
year a.d. 68, in his thirty-first year. 
His name has become a synonym for 
cruelty and licentiousness, John V, 
2, 152. 



NES 



187 



NET 



Nestor, dr.p, A Grecian commander, 
Troil. 

Nestor was King of Pylos, and in his 
youth and early manhood he was a 
distinguished warrior. He defeated both 
the Arcadians and Eleans. He took 
part in the fight of the Lapithae against 
the Centaurs, and he is mentioned 
amongst the Calydonian hunters and 
the Argonauts. Although far advanced 
in age, he sailed with the other Greek 
heroes against Troy. Having ruled 
over three generations of men, his 
advice and authority were deemed equal 
to that of the gods, and he was renowned 
for his wisdom, his justice and his 
knowledge of war. After the fall of 
Troy he returned home and arrived 
safely in Pylos, where he lived to a full 
old age, surrounded by brave and in- 
telligent sons. Outside of Troilus and 
Cressida, in which play he makes a 
prominent figure, he is referred to in 
LLL. IV, 3, 169; Merch. 1, 1, 56; IHVI. 
II, 5, 6 ; 3HVI. Ill, 2, 188. 

Nessus. A Centaur, who carried travelers 
across the river Evenus for a small sum 
of money. When Hercules and his wife, 
Deianira, went into exile they had to 
cross this river ; Hercules himself forded 
it, but he entrusted his wife to the 
Centaur to carry her across. Nessus 
attempted to outrage her, and Hercules, 
hearing her screams, shot him through 
the heart with a poisoned ari-ow dipped 
in the gall of the Lernaean Hydra. The 
dying Centaur told Deianira to take 
his blood with her as it was a sure 
means of preserving the love of her 
husband. Some time after, Hercules 
prepared to offer a sacrifice to Jupiter 
and sent his servant to Deianira for a 
suitable garment for the ceremony. She 
sent one, but first dipped it in the blood 
of the Centaur, as she was afraid that 
lole, whom Hercules had carried off as 
a prisoner, would supplant her in his 
affections. As soon as the robe be- 
came warm on the body of Hercules, 
the poison penetrated all his limbs and 
caused him the most excruciating agony, 



and when he tried to pull off the gar- 
ment, he tore off great masses of flesh 
with it. His torture was so great that 
he put an end to his life. All's. IV, 3, 
281 ; Ant. IV, 12, 43. See Lichas. 

nether=stocks. The lower part of the 
hose or leg-covering, as distinguished 
from the trunk-hose or thigh covering. 
IHIV. II, 4, 130. 

nettle. In the Fl. the passage Tw. II, 
5, 17 reads : How now, my Mettle of 
India f This was changed in the F2. 
to iny nettle of India, a reading which 
has been followed by some eds. In 
defence of the latter reading Mason 
says : "The nettle of India is the plant 
that produces the cow-itch, a substance 
only used for the purpose of tormenting 
by its itching quality," and the allusion 
is supposed to be to Maria's ability to 
torment and irritate. I cannot find in 
the old pharmacopoeias that "nettle of 
India " was a synonym for cow-itch or 
cowhage (Macima pruriens). Mason 
is mistaken in supposing that cow-itch 
is used only for playing tricks ; it was 
an important item in the old materia 
medica, being used as a vermifuge or 
anthelmintic, and if " nettle of India " 
had been a synonym, it is probable that 
it would have been mentioned as such. 
White gives the scientific name as 
Urtica Marina, which is Latin for 
"sea nettle." But the sea nettle is a 
jelly fish, and Maria was no jelly fish. 
The word nettle, both as noun and verb, 
occurs frequently in Sh., and always in 
reference to the common nettle ( Urtica 
dioica) and its action. It seems to me 
that the Fl. reading is to be preferred. 
White makes my metal of India ='-''xaj 
lass of gold;" Rolfe explains it as: 
" my golden girl, my jewel, an expres- 
sion quite in Sir Toby's vein. " EZnight 
asks: "Was Sir Toby likely to use a 
common figure or one so far-fetched ? 
If Shakespeare had wished to call Maria 
a stinging nettle, he would have been 
satisfied with naming the indigenous 
plant — as he has been in RII. and HIV. 
—without going to the Indian seas." 



NEW 



188 



NIC 



news. In Rom. Ill, 5, 124, the sentence : 
These are news indeed ! as found in the 
Fl., is spoken by Juliet. Collier's MS. 
corrector gives them to Lady Capulet, 
and they certainly might come appro- 
priately from her. But it is always 
best to follow the old reading where 
possible, and as Dyce observes, Juliet's 
words refer to Lady Capulet's promise 
(line 105) : Pll tell thee joyful tidings, 
girl. 

newt. Said by Schmidt and others to be 
a lizard, w hich it is not. Sh. speaks of 
both lizards and newts, but whether he 
recognised them as essentially different 
animals may be an open question, but 
in Lr. Ill, 4, 135, he evidently makes a 
distinction and speaks of the wall-newt 
and the water, i.e., the water-newt. 
The word was originally evet or eft, 
and the n of the article became attached 
to the word so that an ewt became a 
newt, just as mine uncle became my 
nuncle. The opposite took place in some 
words ; thus, nadder became au adder ; 
nauger became an auger. The original 
meaning of eft is a water animal or 
inhabitant of a stream. Skeat. 

Why the harmless and pretty little 
newt should have become an object of 
horror and an ingredient in the broth 
of witches it is hard to tell. It forms 
a curious and interesting pet when kept 
in the aquarium and may be handled 
with impunity, but, unfortunately, like 
that most useful insect, the dragon-fly 
or devil's darning-needle, which is quite 
harmless and a most efiicient destroyer 
of the mosquito and other pestiferous 
insects, most people, out of sheer ignor- 
ance, regard it as venomous. 

nice. 1. Foolish. Shr. Ill, 1, 80. 
2. Trivial. Rom. Ill, 1, 159. 

niceness, ) Coyness. Meas. II, 4, 163 ; 

nicety. \ Cym. Ill, 4, 158. 

Nicholas. St. Nicholas' clerks is a cant 
term for highwaymen and robbers, but 
though the expression is very common, 
its origin is still uncertain. That he 
was the patron saint of scholars is well 
known, and to this there is an allusion 



in Gent. Ill, 1, 300. Douce tells us that 
there was a legend according to which 
the saint was accorded this honor be- 
cause he discovered that a wicked host 
had murdered three scholars on their 
way to school. By his prayers Saint 
Nicholas restored them to life. By the 
statutes of St. Paul's School, the 
scholars are required to attend divine 
service at the cathedral on the anniver- 
sary of this saint, and the parish clerks 
of London were incorporated into a 
guild, with Saint Nicholas for their 
patron. 

Warburton explains the adoption of 
St. Nicholas by thieves as their patron 
saint thus : '■'■St. Nicholas was the 
Patron Saint of scholars ; and Nicholas 
or Old Nick is a cant name for the Devil. 
Hence, he equivocally calls robbers St. 
Nicholas's clerks." This seems rather 
far-fetched. Knight gives the follow- 
ing : ' ' Scholars appear, from the ancient 
statutes against vagrancy, to have been 
great travellers about the country. 
These statutes generally recognise the 
right of poor scholars to beg, but they 
were also liable to the penalties of the 
gaol and the stocks unless they could 
produce letters testimonial from the 
chancellors of their respective univer- 
sities. It is not unlikely that in the 
journeys of these hundreds of poor 
scholars they should have occasionally 
' taken a purse ' as well as begged ' an 
almesse, ' and that some of ' St. Nicholas's 
clerks ' should have become as celebrated 
for the same accomplishments which 
distinguished Bardolph and Peto at 
Gadshill as for the learned poverty 
which entitled them to travel with a 
chancellor's license." 

However this might have been, it is 
certain that the expression was a com- 
mon one in the time of Sh. Steevens 
quotes "A Christian turned Turk" 
(1612) : " St Nicholas' clerks are stepp'd 
up before us ;" and in " The Hollander " 
Glapthorne has : "divers rooks and St. 
Nicholas' clerks." But Donnelly, in 
his "Great Cryptogram," page 5S3, 



NIC 



189 



NIO 



tells us that the name Saint Nicholas 
was "dragged into " this passage so as 
to bring the name of Nicholas Bacon 
into the cipher, and intimates that pre 
viously Saint Nicholas was not known 
at all in this connection ! ! 

nick, n. 1. The exact spot; the very 
moment. 0th. V, 2, 317. 
2. In some of the uses of this word re- 
ference is evidently made to the nicks 
cut on tallies or sticks for keeping 
scores or accounts. Gent. IV, 2, 76, 

nick, V. To cut notches in ; to injure or 
destroy. Ant. Ill, 13, 8. Nicks him 
like a fool (Err. V, 1, 175), that is, cuts 
his hair in nicks or notches, as was 
formerly done to fools, " who were 
shaved and nicked in a particular 
manner in our author's time." Malone. 

niece. Granddaughter. RIII. IV, 1, 1. 
See nejohew. 

nightingale. It is an old idea that the 
nightingale sings with its breast pressed 
against a thorn. Lucr. 1135 ; Pilgr. 380 ; 
Kins. Ill, 4, 25. Sir Thomas Brown, in 
his "Vulgar Errors," asks "whether 
the nightingale's sitting with her breast 
against a thorn be any more than that 
she placeth some prickles on the out- 
side of her nest, or roosteth in thorney, 
prickly places, where serpents may 
least approach her." In the "Zoolo- 
gist " for 1863, the Rev. A. C. Smith men- 
tions the discovery on two occasions of 
a strong thorn projecting upward in 
the center of the nightingale's nest. 

Another popular error is that the 
nightingale never sings by day. Portia 
says (Merch. V, I, 103) : / thiyik the 
nightingale, if she could sing by day, 
etc., and cf. Rom. Ill, 5, 1, et seq. But 
the nightingale often sings as sweetly 
in the day as during the night. There 
is an old superstition that the nightin- 
gale sings all night to keep herself 
awake lest the glow-worm should devour 
her. That the nightingale frequents the 
pomegranate trees in preference to any 
other is said to be a fact, and it is well 
known that no birds are more faithful 
to a favorite locality. Year after year 



they will frequent the same spot and 
pour forth their songs from the same 
bushes. Rom. Ill, 5, 1. 

In referring to the nightingale, all 
poets and other writers speak of the 
female bird only as the one that sings. 
This is an error. The female does not 
sing, but the male bird sings almost 
continually from pairing to hatching 
time, after which he is too busy helping 
his mate to feed the young to sing 
much. Such are some of the legends 
which have been woven round this 
interesting bird. For the story of the 
unhappy Philomela see Philomel. 

night=cap. A cap worn at night or when 
at work. Cses. I, 2, 247 ; 0th. II, 1, 316. 
In the latter case with a metaphorical 
quibble. 

night=crow. The identity of this bird is 
not well established. The night-heron, 
the owl and the night- jar have all been 
suggested and urged as being the bird 
meant by Sh. 3HVI. V, 6, 45. 

nighted. 1. Black. Hml. I, 2, 68. 
2. Darkened. Lr. IV, 5, 13. 

night=rule. Night revel ; diversion. Mids. 
Ill, 2, 5. See rule. 

nill. Will not. Shr. II, 1, 273. ; Hml. V, 
1, 19 ; Per. Ill, Prol. 55. 

n!ne=fold. This, according to Tyrwhitt, 
is put for the rhyme instead of nine 
foals; according to Malone, it means 
" nine familiars. " Lr. Ill, 4, 126. 

ninny. A fool ; a jester. Tp. Ill, 2, 71. 

Niobe. She was the daughter of Tantalus, 
the sister of Pelops and the wife of 
Amphion, King of Thebes, by whom 
she had a large number of children, the 
most commonly received account being 
seven sons and seven daughters. Being- 
proud of the number of her children 
she deemed herself superior to Latona, 
who had given birth to only two, Apollo 
and Diana. These two divinities, being 
indignant at the insult thus offered to 
their mother, slew all Niobe's childi-en 
with their arrows. For nine days the 
bodies lay in their blood unburied, 
because Jupiter had changed the people 
into stones, but on the tenth day the 



NIT 



190 



NOB 



gods themselves buried them, and Niobe 
was metamorphosed into stone as she 
sat weeping on Mount Sipylus. Hml. 
I, 2, 149. It is said that this stone 
always sheds tears during the summer. 
The story of Niobe and her children was 
a favorite subject with the ancient 
artists. One of the most celebrated of 
the ancient works of art still extant is 
the group of Niobe and her children, 
which filled the pediment of the temple 
of Apollo Sosianus at Rome, and which 
was discovered in the year 1583, or 
about eighteen or nineteen years before 
Sh. play of Hamlet was written. This 
group is now at Florence, and consists 
of the mother, who holds her youngest 
daughter on her knees, and thirteen 
statues of her sons and daughters, 
besides a figure usually called the paeda- 
gogus of the children. 

nit. The egg of an insect, especially that 
of th.e pediculiis. Originally, it meant 
the insect itself. Applied to Moth on 
account of his small size. LLL. IV, 1, 
150; Shr. IV, 3, 110. 

nobility. Greatness; magnitude. Hml. 
I, 2, 110. 

noble. A gold coin worth 6s. 8d. ; RII. 

1, 1, 88. The royal went for 10s. ; the 
noble only for 6s. 8d., and upon this is 
founded numerous jests, as in IHIV. I, 

2, 156, and II, 4, 331. The last seems to 
allude to a jest of Queen Elizabeth. Mr. 
John Blower, in a sermon before her 
majesty, first said, "My royal queen," 
and a little after, " My Tio&Ze queen ; " 
upon which, says the queen: "What, 
am I ten groats worse than I was ? ' ' 

nobody. Played by the picture of no- 
body. Tp. Ill, 2, 136. The allusion 
here is either to the print of Nobody, 
as prefixed to the anonymous comedy 
of No-Body and Some-Body, without 
date, but printed before 1600 (Reed), or 
to the very singular engraving on the 
old and popular ballad of The Well- 
sjDoken Nobody (Halliwell). 

nod. " To give the nod ; " a term in the 
game of cards called "Noddy." Troil. 
I, 2, 209. 



noddy. A fool ; a simpleton. Gent. I, 1, 
119. 

noise. A company of musicians. 2HIV. 
II, 4, 13. 

"This term, which occurs perpetually 
in our old dramatists, means a company 
or concert. In Jonson's days they 
sedulously attended taverns, ordinaries, 
etc., and seem to have been very im- 
portunate for admission to the guests. 
They usually consisted of three, and 
took their name from the leader of 
their little band. Thus we hear of ' Mr. 
Sneak's noise,'' 'Mr. Creak's noise,''"' 
and in Cartwright of ' Mr. Spindle's 
noise.'' " — Gifford''s note on '■'' Jonson'^ s 
Works. ^^ The term continued in use 
down to the time of Dryden. Dyce 
calls attention to the fact that Wycherly , 
in The Plain Dealer, uses the word in 
the sense of " a company " without any 
reference to music. "I could as soon 
suffer a whole noise of flatterers at a 
great man's levee in a morning." 

nole, \ A grotesque word for head, 

nowl. f like pate, noddle. Mids. Ill, 
2, 17. 

Some of the old books on magic gave 
receipts which were said to enabl^e the 
reader to make "a man's head seeme 
an asse head. ' ' Receipts from Albertus 
Magnus and from Scot's " Disco verie of 
Witchcraft ' ' are quoted by Wright in 
the Clarendon ed. of A Midsummer 
NighVs Dream. Also by Douce. 

nonce. Literally, for the once; for the 
one time ; for this particular occasion. 
IHIV. I, 2, 201 ; IHVI. II, 3, 57; Hml. 
IV, 7, 161. 

nook=sIiotten. Shooting out into capes, 
promontories and necks of land. War- 
burton. Or, perhaps, thrust into a 
corner apart from the rest of the world. 
HV. Ill, 5, 14. cf. Cym. Ill, 4, 141. 

Norfolk, Duke of, dr.p. RII. and RIII. 

Norfolk, Duke of, dr.p. Of the Duke of 
York's party. 8HVI. 

Norfolk, Duke of, dr.p. Father to the 
Earl of Surrey. HVIII. 

north. 1. The north wind, proverbial 
for its coldness and violence. Hence, 



KOR 



191 



NUN 



in 0th. V, 2, 30, as liber^al as the north, 
that is, as loudly and freely as the north 
wind blows. In Cym. I, 3, 36, the re- 
ference is to the cold and frosty charac- 
ter of the north wind and its blighting 
effects on vegetation, cf. Tp. I, 2, 256. 
Applied metaphorically to the bad 
opinion of any one, as in Tw, III, 2, 28, 
the north of my lady''s opinion. 
2. "The north was always supposed to 
be the particular habitation of bad 
spirits. Milton, therefore, assembles 
the rebel angels in the north. ' ' Johnson. 
Hence, Sh. makes La Pucelle appeal to 
those who are substitutes. Under the 
lordly monarch of the north (IHVI. V, 
8, 6). Read article on Joan La Pucelle. 
" The monarch of the north was Zimi- 
mar, one of the four principal devils 
invoked by witches. The others were : 
Amaimon, king of the east, Gorson, 
king of the south, and Goap, king of the 
west. Under these devil kings were devil 
marquesses, dukes, prelates, knights, 
presidents and earls. They are all 
enumerated from Wier, De Proestigiis 
dop.m,onum, in Scot's ' Discoverie of 
Witchcraft.' Book xv., c. 2." Douce. 

Northumberland, Earl of, dr. p. 3HVI. 

Northumberland, Earl of, dr.}:). Henry 
Percy. RII. ; IHIV. and 2HIV. 

nose. It was not for nothing that my 
nose fell a-bleeding. Merch. II, 5, 24. 
In Sh. time bleeding at the nose was 
considered ominous. In regard to LLL. 
V, 2, 568, see Alexander. 

note. A stigma ; a mark of reproach. 
RII. I, 1, 43. 

noted. D isgraced ; marked with a stigma. 
Cses. IV, 3, 2. 

not ever. Not ever is an uncommon ex- 
pression and does not mean 7iever, but 
not always. Mason. HVIII. V, 1, 130. 

not=pated. Having the hair cut close. 
IHIV. II, 4, 78. According to some, it 
means bull-headed ; stubborn. Nares 
calls attention to the fact that beardless 
wheat has been called 7iot wheat, cf. 
Line 251 in same scene — knotty-pated. 
Also Chaucer's description of the Yeo- 
man (" Canterbury Tales," Prol. line 



109) : "A not-hed hadde he, with a 
broune visage." 

nourish. This word, as it occurs in IHVI. 
I, 1, 50 : Our isle be made a nourish of 
salt tears, has occasioned some dis- 
cussion. The usual interpretation is 
that the isle would be made a nurse or 
nourisher of salt tears, and the singular 
expression in the preceding line : When 
at their mother'' s moist eyes babes shall 
suck, lends color to this view. That 
nourish, nourice or norice is an old 
form of nurse is easily shown (Nares 
gives several examples) . Pope, however, 
objected to this reading and changed 
nourish to marish or marsh, and this 
has been adopted by several eds. — Delius, 
Rolfe, Craig, etc. In support of marish, 
Ritson quotes Kyd in the Spanish 
Tragedy: "Made mountains marsh 
with spring- tides of my tears," but this 
idea is a common one. Marshall, in 
"The Henry Irving" ed., retains 
nourish, with the remark that " Pope's 
ingenious emendation marish has been 
very generally adopted ; but on mature 
consideration we have rejected it." 

Novi hominem tanquam te. Latin for 
Iknotv the man as well as I do you. 
LLL. V, 1, 10. 

novum. '■'■Novum or Novem was a game 
at dice, played by five or six persons. 
Its proper name was Novem quinque, 
from the two principal throws being 
five and nine. Dyce. LLL. V, 2, 547. 

noyance. Injury. Hml. Ill, 3, 13. 

numbered. Having full numbers; richly 
stored. Cym. I, 6, 36. Thus, in the 
Fl. Theobald changed to unnumber''d, 
and this reading has been adopted by 
many. In support of the change, refer- 
ence is made to Lr. IV, 6, 21 : The mur- 
muring surge, That on the unnumber''d 
idle pebbles chafes. Numerous other 
emendations have been suggested, such 
as humbled, umbr''d, cumber''d, etc., 
but none has been accepted. See twinned. 

nuncle. A contraction of mine uncle, 
and the usual address, it appears, of the 
domestic fool to his superiors. Lr. I, 4, 
117, and elsewhere in this play. In the 



NTJR 



192 



NYM 



same style the fools called each other 

cousin. Nares. 

Nurse, dr. p. (Of. Juliet.) Rom. 

It may be interesting to our readers 
to know the fate of the nurse, as related 
in Brooke's poem from which Sh. un- 
doubtedly drew much of his material, 
Dowden summarises the fates of the 
subordinate actors as follows: "The 
nurse is banished because she hid the 
marriage ; Romeo's servant is allowed 
to live free ; the apothecary is hanged ; 
Friar Laurence is discharged, retires to 
a hermitage two miles from Verona, 
and after five years, there dies." 

nut=hook. Properly, a pole with a hook 
at the end used for gathering nuts ; a 
cant term for a catchpole or bailiff. 
Wiv. I, 1, 173 ; 2HIV. V, 4, 8. 

nuzzling. Nosing; thrusting in the nose. 
Ven. 1,115. 

Nym, dr. p. A soldier in the king's army, 
HV, 

Nym, dr. p. A follower of Falstaff, 

Nymphs. 1. A class of inferior female 
divinities who are described as the 
daughters of Jupiter. They were be- 
lieved to dwell on earth, in groves, on 
the summits of mountains, in rivers, 
streams, glens and grottoes. Homer 
describes them as presiding over game, 
accompanying Diana, dancing with her, 
weaving in their grottoes purple gar- 
ments and kindly watching over the 
fate of mortals. The early Greeks saw 
in all the phenomena of ordinary nature 
some manifestation of the deity ; springs, 
rivers, grottoes, trees and mountains, 
all seemed to them fraught with life ; 
and all were only the visible embodi- 
ments of so many divine agents. The 
salutary and beneficient powers of 
nature were thus personified and re- 
garded as so many divinities ; and the 
sensations produced on man in the con- 
templation of nature, such as awe, 
terror, joy, delight, were ascribed to 
the agency of the various divinities of 
nature. L. Schviitz. 

The nymphs were divided into various 
species, according to the different parts 



of nature of which they are the repre- 
sentatives. The most prominent were: 

1. Nymphs of the watery element. To 
these belong, first, the nymphs of the 
ocean, the Oceanides ; and next, the 
nymphs of the Mediterranean or inner 
sea, the Nereides. The rivers were 
represented by the Potanieides, who 
were named after their particular rivers. 
The nymphs of fresh water, whether of 
rivers, lakes, brooks or springs, were 
also designated by the general names of 
Naiades. Even the rivers of the lower 
regions were described as having their 
nymphs. Many of these nymphs pre- 
side over waters or springs which were 
believed to inspire those who drank of 
them, and the nymphs themselves were 
thought to be endowed with prophetic 
power and to inspire men with the same, 
and to confer on them the gift of poetry. 

2. Nymphs of mountains and grottoes, 
called Oreades. 

3. Nymphs of forests, groves and glens 
were believed sometimes to appear to 
and frighten solitary travelers, 

4. Nymphs of trees were believed to die 
together with the trees which had been 
their abode and with which they had 
come into existence. They were called 
Dryades and Hamadryades. 

The sacrifices offered to nymphs 
usually consisted of goats, lambs, milk 
and oil, but never of wine. They were 
worshipped and honored with sanctu- 
aries in many parts of G-reece, especially 
near .springs, groves and grottoes. 

Nymphs are represented in works of 
art as beautiful maidens, either quite 
naked or only half covered. Later poets 
sometimes describe them as having sea- 
colored hair. 

There are numerous references in the 
plays to these nymphs. See Naiades, 
Nereides, Sirens, Thetis. 
2. The nymphs being beautiful and 
benevolent female divinities, the term 
nymph has been frequently applied to an 
attractive and beautiful young woman, 
as in Gent. V, 4, 12; Mids. II, 1, 245; 
Hml. Ill, 1, 89, and other passages. 



193 



OBE 




^ The fifteenth letter of the 
alphabet, often used as a 
synonym for other things, 
such as : 

1. A circle ; a sphere or globe. Ant. 
V, 2, 81. 

2. The arithmetical cipher. Lr. I, 4, 212. 

3. The Globe Theatre, on the Bankside, 
which was circular within. HV., 
Prol. 13. See theatre. 

4. Orbs ; stars (fiery O's). Mids. Ill, 2, 
188. 

5. A sigh ; an affliction. Rom. Ill, 3, 90. 

6. Marks of the small-pox (round pits). 
LLL. V, 2, 45. 

oak. To him who saved the life of a 
citizen in battle the Romans awarded a 
crown or garland of oak, inscribed with 
the words " ob civem servatum. " Such 
a crown was accounted more honorable 
than any other. Cor. I, 3, 16 ; Kins. 
IV, 2, 187. The oak was sacred to 
Jupiter. Tp. V, 1, 45. See -Heme's Oafc. 

oar. To row as with oars. Tp. II, 1, 118. 

Oberon, dr.p. King of the Fairies. Mids. 
With the exception of the name, the 
Oberon of the Midsuminer Nighfs 
Dream, is purely a Shakesperean crea- 
tion. The name he may have found 
in Spenser's "Faerie Queene," in the 
description of Sir Guyon (Book II, 
cant. I, Z 6) : 

Well could he tourney and in lists 

debate, 
And knighthood tooke of good Sir 

Huon's hand, 
When with King Oberon he came to 

Faryland. 

The name Oberon, or, as Greene has it 
in his "Scottish History of James IV," 
Oberam, is the same as that of the 
dwarf Elberich, who aided the Emperor 
Otnit or Ortnit to gain the daughter of 
the Paynim Soldan of Syria, as told in 
Keighfcley's "Fairy Mythology." Ac- 
cording to Grimm, as stated by Keight- 
ley, the change was made as follows : 



" From the usual change of I into u (as 
al, au, col, cou, etc.) in the French 
language, Elberich or Albrich (derived 
from Alp, Alf ) becomes Auberich ; and 
ich, not being a French termination, 
the diminutive on was substituted, and 
so it became Auberon or Oberon; a 
much more likely origin than the usual 
one from Uauhe dujour.''^ 

" Shakespeare seems to have at- 
tempted a blending of the Elves of the 
village with the Fays of romance. His 
fairies agree with the former in their 
diminutive stature — diminished, indeed, 
to dimensions inappreciable by village 
gossips — in their fondness for dancing, 
their love of cleanliness and their child- 
abstracting propensities. Like the Fays, 
they form a court ruled over by the 
princely Oberon and the fair Titania. 
There is a court and chivalry. Oberon 
would have the queen's sweet change- 
ling to be a ' knight of his train to trace 
the forest wild. ' Like earthly monarchs, 
he has his jester, 'the shrewd and 
knavish sprite, called Robin Good-fel- 
low." Keightley. 

Commenting on Lamb's alleged state- 
ment that Sh. "invented the fairies," 
Furness says : " No one was ever more 
competent than Lamb to pronounce 
such an opinion, and nothing that Lamb 
ever said is more true. There were no 
real fairies before Shakespeare's. What 
were called ' fairies ' have existed ever 
since stories were told to wide-eyed 
listeners round a winter's fire. But 
these are not the fairies of Shakespeare, 
nor the fairies of to-day. They are the 
fairies of Grimm's 'Mythology.' Our 
fairies are spirits of another sort, but 
unless they wear Shakespeare's livery 
they are counterfeit. The fairies of 
Folk-lore were rough and repulsive, 
taking their style from the hempen 
homespuns who invented them ; they 
were gnomes, cobbolds, lubber-louts, 



OAT 



194 



ODD 



and descendants though they may have 
been of the Greek Nereids, they had 
lost every vestige of charm along their 
Northern route. ' ' 

That the fairies were very diminutive 
creatures is insisted upon whenever 
they are described. Thus Sh. tells us 
that they could "creep into acorn-cups 
and hide them there," and Titania 
speaks of making her small elves coats 
from the leathern wings of bats. And 
yet these pigmies are said to be in love 
with human beings — Titania with The- 
seus, and Oberon with Hippol3^ta ; and 
Oberon is said to have had ' ' credit ' ' with 
the "bouncing Amazon." But this 
apparently contradictory absurdity is 
accounted for by the fact that these 
beings could, like the gods of Greece, 
assume any form that they chose. 
Thus, Puck takes the form of a crab- 
apple and a filly foal, and in wooing 
Hippolj^ta, Oberon may have taken on 
the form of an attractive young man. 
See loh, Pxick and Titania. 

oathable. Fit to be sworn. Tim. IV, 3, 
135. 

obscene. Offensive; abominable. LLL. 

I, 1, 244 ; RII. IV, 1, 131 ; IHIV. II, 4, 
252. 

obscenely. Used blunderingly for obs- 
curely or in secret. Mids. I, 2, 1 11, and 
probably for some very different word 
in LLL. IV, 1, 145. Perhaps it may in 
both instances be a blunder for seemly. 

obscure. 1. To hide. Meas. V, 1, 395; 
Merch. Ill, 2, 77 ; As. V, 4, 34. 
2. To degrade ; to make mean. Wint. 
IV, 4, 8 ; Lr. II, 2, 175. 

obsequious. In a manner suited to one 
who performs funeral obsequies. 3H VI. 

II, 5, 118 ; Hml. I, 2, 92 ; Tit. V, 3, 152. 
obsequiously. In the character of a 

mourner. RIII. I, 2, 3. 
observation. The observance of proper 
rites and ceremonies. Mids. IV, 1, 109. 
In this passage the reference is to the 
rites due to the morning of May. The 
passage in Tp. Ill, 3, 8, ivith good life 
and observation strange, has called 
forth some comment. Good life is ex- 



plained as "done to the life," and 
observation strange may possibly mean 
unusual performances, a sense similar 
to that found in our first quotation; 
so that the meaning of the whole passage 
is that Prospero's meaner ministers have 
carried out their strange performances 
in a life-like manner. 

obstacle. An illiterate shepherd's blun- 
der for obstinate. IHVI. V, 4, 17. 

Occident. The west. Gym. IV, 2, 372. 

occulted. Hidden. Hml. Ill, 2, 85. 

occupation. The persons engaged in the 
trades. Cor. IV, 6, 97. 

occurrent. An event; an incident; an 
occurrence. Hml. V, 2, 368. 

Octavia, dr.p. Wife to Antony. Ant. 

Octavius Csesar, dr.p. Triumvir of Rome. 
Csps. and Ant. 

'od, ^ A corruption or contraction for 

od's. ) God or God's. Wiv. I, 1, 273 ; 
As. Ill, 5, 43 ; 0th. IV, 3, 75. 

odd, ) Uneven; not divisible by 2. 

odds. ) LLL. Ill, 1, 86. In this passage 
there is an evident error unless Sh. 
meant to introduce confusion. Adding 
4 to 3 will not make an even number ; 
adding 1 (the goose) to 3 will make an 
even number. Perhaps adding is a 
mistake for making, so that we should 
read : 

Until the goose came out of door, 
Staying the odds by making four. 

odd=even. Irregular; untimely. 0th. I, 
1, 124. 

The explanation that is usually given 
of this expression is that the time was 
"between twelve at night and one in 
the morning," and the passage from 
Mcb. Ill, 4, 127, where, in reply to 
Macbeth's question : " What is the 
night ? " Lady M. replies : " Almost at 
odds with morning, which is which," is 
quoted as confirming this view, although 
the meaning, as well as the form of the 
expression, is evidently very different. 
From twelve to one is even-odd, not 
odd-even, and we have no indication 
that this was the exact time of Desde- 
mona's flight. Various emendations, 
such as ' ' odd season, " " odd hour, ' ' etc. , 



m 



195 



OLI 



have been suggested, but they are not 
needed. The expression obviously sig- 
nifies irregularity, and that is just what 
is meant and all that is meant. 

oeillades. Amorous glances ; ogles. Wiv. 
I, 3, 68 ; Lr. IV, 5, 25. 

o'er=dyed. Dyed over ; colored with an- 
other dye; o''er-dyed blacks (Wint. I, 
3, 132) = black things dyed with another 
color, through which the ground will 
soon appear. 

o'ercrow. To overpower ; to triumph 
over, as a victorious cock crows over 
his adversary. Hml. V, 2, 864. Ore- 
crows in Fl. ; Pope and some other eds. 
change to ore-growes. 

o'erlook. To bewitch. Wiv. V, 5, 87; 
Merch. Ill, 2, 15. In allusion to the 
superstition of the evil eye . 

o'er-flourished. Varnished or painted 
over. Tw. Ill, 4, 404. 

o'er-off ice. To get the better of and lord 
over by virtue of an office. Hml. V, 1, 
87. The Quartos have o''er-reaehes. 

o'er=parted. Having assigned to him a 
part too difficult or beyond his parts or 
abilities. LLL. V, 2, 588. 

o'erpeer. To overtop ; to rise above. 
Cor. II, 3, 128. 

o'er=perch. Usually explained as "to fly 
over." Rom. II, 2, 66. Grant White 
says: " O'er-perch cannot mean to fly 
over, as perch does not mean fly. In 
the only passage in which Shakespeare 
uses it, Romeo's ' with love's light wings 
I did o'er-perch these walls,' it is a 
picturesque word showing us the young 
lover touching for an instant the top of 
the wall as he surmounted it. " 

o'er=raught. 1. Over-took ; literally, 
over-reached. Hml. Ill, 1, 17. 
2. Over-reached ; cheated. Err. I, 2, 96. 
See raught. 

o'er=sized. Covered over a,s with size or 
glue. Hml. II, 2, 493. 

o'er=teemed. Worn out by bringing 
forth children. Hml. II, 2, 531. 

o'erwhelm. To cover ; to conceal. Hml. 
I, 2, 258 ; Per. Ill, 1, 64. 

oes. The plural of o. Sometimes spelled 
o's. See O. 



off=capped. Took off their caps in the 
usual form of courtesy. 0th. I, 1, 10. 

offendendo. Se offendendo is the grave- 
digger's blunder for se defendendo — in 
self-defence. Hml. V, 1, 9. 

offer. To challenge. IHIV. IV, 1, 69 ; 
2HIV. IV, 1, 219. 

office. 1. Service. Wiv. I, 1, 102 ; All's. 
IV, 4, 5. 

In 0th. IV, 2, 92, the passage, that 
have the office opposite to Saint Peter, 
means the position held by Emilia, viz., 
that of gate-keeper to hell, as Saint 
Peter is gate-keeper in Heaven. A 
recent commentary assigns this office to 
Desdemona, but that is surely wrong. 
It is Emilia that is meant. And cf. line 
22 in same act and scene. [To Emilia.] 
Some of your function, mistress. 
2. An act of worship. HVIII. Ill, 2, 
144 ; Cym. Ill, 3, 4. 

old, n. Wold; downs. Lr. Ill, 4, 125. 
See Swithold. 

old, adj. The use of this word in the 
sense of great, very much, frequent, 
etc. , seems to have been as common in 
the time of Sh. as it is at present. Just 
as we speak of "a high old time" we 
find in Sh. an old abusing of God''s 
patience and the King''s English (Wiv. 
I, 4, 5) ; Yonder''s old coil at home 
(Ado. V, 2, 98) ; here ivill be old Utis 
(2HIV. II, 4, 21). 

Generally, old means of great age, but 
not always. The question: "How old 
are you ?" might be addressed to a child 
or to a centenarian, the word old being 
equivalent to age, which may be more 
or less. This is evidently the meaning 
of the word in Hml. II, 2, 206. The 
word young might have been substituted 
for old here with propriety. Most of 
our readers will remember the joke of 
the genial Autocrat who claimed that 
he was seventy years young, not seventy 
years old. The ideas are similar, though 
not identical. 

Old Gobbo, dr.p. Father to Launcelot 
Gobbo. Merch. 

olive. The emblem of peace. Tw. I, 5, 
226; 2HIV. IV, 4, 87; Ant. IV, 6, 7. 



on 



196 



OMN 



Oliver, dr.p. Son to Sir Rowland de 
Bois. As. 

Olivia, dr. p. A rich countess. Tw. 

Olympian Games. Referred to in 3HVI. 
II, 3, 53. Usually called the Olympic 
Games, the greatest of the national 
festivals of the Greeks. They were 
celebrated at Olympia, in Elis, which 
seems not to have been a town, but 
rather a collection of temples and public 
buildings. The origin of the Olympic 
games is buried in obscurity. They 
were said to have been first established 
by Hercules, who, in a contest with his 
four brothers, won a footrace. He 
thereupon established a contest which 
was to be celebrated every five yeai's, 
because he and his brothers were five in 
number. Later, the celebration occurred 
every fourth year, and the period of 
four years was called an Olympiad and 
was the most celebrated chronological 
era among the Greeks, The Olympiads 
began to be reckoned from the victory 
of Coroebus in the footrace, which hap- 
pened in the year B.C. 776. At first the 
contest consisted merely of a footrace 
aiid occupied but one day, but after- 
wards contests of wrestling, boxing, 
quoit and javelin throwing, horse-racing 
and chariot-racing were introduced, 
and the contest lasted for five days. 
There were no combats with any kind 
of weapons. The " Student's Greece" 
gives the following account of these 
games: "The only prize given to the 
conqueror was a garland of olive ; but 
this was valued as one of the dearest 
distinctions in life. To have his name 
proclaimed before assembled Hellas was 
an object of ambition with the noblest 
and wealthiest of the Greeks. Such a 
person was considered to have conferred 
everlasting glory upon his family and 
his country, and was rewarded by his 
fellow citizens with distinguished hon- 
ours. His statue was generally erected 
in the Altis or sacred grove of Jove, at 
Olympia ; and on his return home he 
entered his native city in a triumphal 
procession, in which his praises were 



sung, frequently in the loftiest strains 
of poetry. He also received still more 
substantial rewards. He was generally 
relieved from the payment of taxes, 
and had a right to the front seat at 
all public games and spectacles. An 
Athenian victor in the Olympic Games 
received, in accordance with one of 
Solon's laws, a prize of 500 drachmas 
and a right to a place at the table of 
the magistrates in the prytaneum or 
town hall; and a Spartan conqueror 
had the privilege of fighting on the 
field of battle near the person of the 
king. ' ' 

Olympus. A mountain which forms part 
of the chain which constituted the 
boundary of ancient Greece proper. Its 
shape is that of a blunt cone, with its 
outline picturesquely broken by minor 
summits. Its height is about nine thou- 
sand seven hundred feet, and its chief 
summit is covered with perpetual snow. 
In the Greek mythology Olympus was 
the chief seat of the third dynasty of 
gods, of which Jupiter was the head, 
and this was a really local conception 
with the early poets, to be understood 
literally, and not metaphorically, and 
it was only in the later years that the 
abode of the gods was transferred from 
the top of the mountain to the blue 
vault above it. Homer describes the 
gods as having their several palaces on 
the summit of Olympus ; as spending 
the day in the palace of Jupiter, round 
whom they sit in solemn conclave, while 
the younger gods dance before them 
and the muses entertain them with the 
lyre and song. They are shut in from 
the view of men upon the earth by a 
wall of clouds, the gates of which are 
kept by the Hours. 

There are in Sh. several references to 
Olympus, generally citing it merely as 
a very high mountain. Hml. V, 1, 277 ; 
0th. II, 1, 190. Thou great thunder- 
darter of Olympus, refers to Jupiter. 
Troil. II, 3, 11. 

omne bene. Latin for all well. LLL. 
IV, 2, 33. 



I. 



ON 



197 



ORA 



on. Sometimes has a meaning = o/, as 
in Sonn. XXIX, 10; Liicr. 87; Ven. 
160 ; Tp. IV, 1, 157 ; Mids. I, 2, 9. Some- 
times confounded with o/, as in IHIV. 

II, 1, 33 ; Troil. Ill, 3, 306. 
once. 1. Onetime. 

2. Used to add emphasis to the fact of 
something having been done : Like 
soldiers xvJien once their cai^tain doth 
but yield, they basely fly, Ven. 893 ; 
have I once lived to see two honest 
men f Tim. V, 1, 59. 

3. Or of something to be done. Wiv. 

III, 4, 103 ; Mids. Ill, 2, 68 ; Tp. Ill, 
2, 24. 

4. Enough. (Hudson.) Ado. I, 1, 319. 
Nearly equivalent to "once for all." 
See nonce. 

Of the phrase, all at once, in As. Ill, 
5, 36, and HV. I, 1, 36, Singer says it 
has been asked, "What 'all at once' 
can possibly mean here ? It would not 
be easy to give a satisfactory answer." 
Staunton says it " was a trite phrase in 
Shakespeare's day, though not one of 
his editors has noticed it," and then 
gives several examples from the old 
dramatic writers. Steevens paraphrases 
the passage in As. thus: "That you 
insult, exult and that too all in a breath, ' ' 
and Furness thinks this is near enough. 

one. This word was formerly written o7i 
and probably pronounced like on. Hence 
the pun in Gent. II, 1, 3, between on 
and one. 

oneyers. This word has given rise to 
much conjecture and many suggested 
emendations. A common definition is 
banker ; others suggest great ones ; 
Schm. hyphenates it with great and 
explains as men who converse with 
great ones. IHIV. II, 1, 84. 

ope, adj. Open. Mcb, II, 3, 72 ; Cses. I, 
2, 267. 

ope, V. Open. Rom. V, 3, 283 ; Gym. V, 
4, 81. 

open, ad/. Evident; plain. Meas.- II, 1, 
21 ; IHIV. II, 4, 250. 

open, V. To give tongue as a hound on 
scent or on view of game. Wiv. IV, 

^2, 209. 



operance. Operation. Kins. I, 3. 

operant. Active. Tim. IV, 3, 25 ; Hml. 
Ill, 2, 184. 

Ophelia, d/'.p. Daughter to Polonius. Hml. 

opinion. The passage in 0th. IV, 2, 109, 
that hemight stick The smalVst opinion 
on my least misuse ? is said by Schm. 
to be "peculiar." Furness gives the 
following paraphrase, which he says is 
substantially the same as that of the 
Clarkes : " How have I been behaved 
that he could find the smallest possible 
fault with my smallest possible mis- 
deed?" 

opinioned. Dogberry's blunder tor pin- 
ioned. Ado. IV, 2, 69, 

opposeless. Irresistible. Lr. IV, 6, 38. 

opposite. Adversary. Tw. Ill, 2, 68; 
2HIV. I, 3, 55 ; Hml. V, 2, 62. 

opposition. Combat. IHIV. I, 3, 99 ; 
0th. II, 3, 184. The meaning usually 
given to the word in Cym. IV, 1, 14, is 
single combats. Schm. suggests : when 
compared as to particular accomplish- 
menjts. 

oppression. 1. Tyranny. Hml. II, 2, 
606 ; Lr. I, 2, 52. 

2. Pressure. RII. Ill, 4, 31; Rom. I, 
4,24. 

3. Embarrassment ; difiiculty. Ant. IV, 
7,2. 

4. Affliction; misery. Rom. I, 1, 190, 
and V, 1, 70. 

oppugnancy. Opposition. Troil. 1, 3, 111. 

or. Before ; sooner than. Hml. 1, 2, 183, 
and V, 2, 30; Mcb. IV, 3, 173. 

Oracle. 1. The god who revealed to men 
the will of the gods ; sometimes applied 
to the place where the temple of the 
oracle was located and sometimes to the 
revelations uttered by the oracle. There 
were numerous oracles in ancient times, 
the most famous being the oracle of 
Delphi, the most celebrated of the 
oracles of Apollo. It was to this that 
Leontes sent a deputation to inquire 
into the chastity of Hermione. Wint. 
Ill, 2. See isle. 

In the center of this temple there was 
a small opening in the ground from 
which, from time to time, intoxicating 



ORA 



198 



OKI 



smoke arose. Over this opening stood 
a high tripod on which the Pythia took 
her seat whenever the oracle was to be 
consulted. The smoke affected her brain 
in such a manner that she fell into a 
state of delirious intoxication, and the 
sounds which she uttered in this state 
were believed to contain the revelations 
of Apollo. These sounds were carefully 
written down by the attending prophets 
and afterwards communicated to the per- 
sons who had come to consult the oracle. 
These utterances were generally quite 
ambiguous, so that they truthfully ap- 
plied to the event, no matter what the 
outcome might be. Thus, Pyrrhus, 
being about to make war against Rome, 
was told: " Aio te, JEtacida., Romanos 
vincere posse," or, in English : "I say 
that you, the son of JE,a.cus, the Romans 
can conquer." This may mean either 
that he would conquer the Romans or 
the Romans would conquer him. Hence 
the quotation in 2HVI. I, 4, 65. 
2 . A person of great wisdom or authority. 
Merch. 1, 1, 93. 
orange. Civil as an orange. Ado. II, 
1, 305. Upon this expression Dyce has the 
following note : "It may be noted that 
a ' civil (not a Seville) orange ' was the 
orthography of the time. See ' ' Cot- 
grave's Dictionary " in ' Aigre Douce ' 
and in 'orange.' " Turning to Cot. we 
find: " Aigre-douce : f. A ciule Orange ; 
or, Orange, that is between sweet and 
sower," Which, as Furness says, is 
exactly what Claudio was, neither sad, 
nor sick, nor merry, nor well, but 
between sweet and sour. 
orbed. Circular. Orbed continent (Tw. V, 
1^ 378) =the sun. Tellus'' orbed ground 
(Hml. Ill, 2, 166) = the round earth. 
orchard. In Sh. time was generally sy- 
nonymous with garden. Now is usually 
confined to a plantation of fruit trees. 
Tw. Ill, 2, 8 ; Hml. I, 5, 35. 
order. 1. Necessary measures or steps. 
Meas. II, 1, 246 ; Err. V, 1, 46; RII. V, 
1,53; 0th. V, 2, 72. 

2. A fraternity or society. Wiv. V, 5, 
65 ; Mids. II, 1, 123 ; Rom. Ill, 3, 114. 



ordinance. Order ; rank. Cor. Ill, 2, 12. 
ordinant. Ruling ; ordaining. Hml. V, 

2,48. 
ordinary, n. 1. The general mass. As. 
Ill, 5, 42. 

2. A meal ; a repast. All's. II, 3, 311 ; 
Ant. II, 2, 230. 
ore. In Sh. time the word ore signified 
the metal itself, and not the mineral 
from which the metal was extracted. 
Thus, in Paradise Lost, XI, 570, we 
find: 

The liqiiid ore he drain'd 
Into fit moulds prepared. 
And in the "English-French Diction- 
ary," appended to Cotgrave, the word 
ore is confined to gold. In the Fl, the 
reading in Hml. IV, 1, 25, is some ore; 
Walker suggested and Furness adopted 
the reading fine ore, but if ore was 
generally understood to mean gold, there 
is no need for any change. In the only 
other passage in the plays in which the 
word ore occurs (All's. Ill, 6, 40, to 
what tnetal this counterfeit lump of 
ore will be melted) the meaning seems 
to be gold. Johnson says : " Shake- 
speare seems to think ore to be Or, that 
is, gold. Base metals have ore no less 
than precious." But Johnson seems to 
forget that the language had changed 
since Sh. day. 
organ=pipe. The tube which serves to 
produce sound in an organ. Hence 
used for the throat or wind-pipe. On 
the passage, Tp. Ill, 3, 98, 

and the thunder, 
That deep and dreadful organ-pipe 

pronounced 
The name of Prosper— 
Dr. Schm. makes the sage remark : 
" Apparently not the pipe of a musical 
organ, which would have been unable 
to pronounce a name." Dr. Schm. is 
apparently deficient in the poetical 
faculty. 
orgillous, ) Proud; haughty. Troil., 
orgulous. \ Prol. 2. 
orient. Bright ; shining. Mids. IV, 1, 
59. Orient generally means the east, 
and Wright gives this explanation of the 



ORI 



199 



OTH 



way it came to have this special sig- 
nification: "The epithet appears to be 
originally applied to the pearl and 
other gems as coming from the orient 
or east, and to have acquired the general 
sense of bright and shining from the 
objects which it most conunonly de- 
scribes. Compare Milton, Paradise 
Lost, I, 546 : 

Ten thousand banners rise into the 

air, 
With orient colours waving." 

orifex. Opening ; aperture. Troil. V, 2, 
151. 

Orlando, dr.p. Son to Sir Rowland- de 
Bois. As. 

Orleans, Duke of, dr. p. HV. 

Orpheus. A famous musician, the son of 
CEagrus and the Muse, Calliope. He 
lived in Thrace in the time of the Ar- 
gonauts and accompanied them in their 
expedition. Presented with the lyre by 
Apollo and instructed by the Muses in 
its uses, he enchanted with its music not 
only the wild beasts, but trees and rocks 
so that they moved from their places to 
follow the sound of his golden harp. 
These powers enabled him to aid the 
Argonauts materially ; at the sound of 
his lyre the Argo glided down into the 
sea ; the Argonauts tore themselves 
away from the pleasures of Lemnos, and 
the Colchian dragon, which guarded the 
golden fleece, was lulled to sleep. After 
his return from the Argonautic ex- 
pedition he took up his abode in a cave 
in Thrace. His wife was a nymph 
named Eurydice. She was killed by 
the bite of a serpent, and Orpheus fol- 
lowed his lost wife into the abodes of 
Hades, where the charms of his lyre 
suspended the torments of the damned 
and won back his wife from the most 
inexorable of all deities, but only upon 
condition that he should not look at 
her until they reached the upper world. 
But just on the confines of Hades 
Orpheus foi'got himself, looked back to 
see if his wife was following him, and 
lost her forever. He wandered about 
inconsolable, and his grief led him to 



treat with repugnance the approaches 
of the Thracian women. They, being 
angry at this, attacked him while under 
the influence of their Bacchic frenzy 
and tore him to pieces. It is this that 
is referred to in Mids. V, 1, 49. Other 
references to Orpheus are found in 
Gent. Ill, 2, 78; Merch. V, 1, 79; 
HVIII. Ill, 1, 3. 

Orsino, dr. p. Duke of Illyria. Tw. 

o's. See oes. 

osprey. The fishing-hawk. It was sup- 
posed to have the power of fascinating 
the fish on which it preyed, and it is 
probably to this that allusion is made 
in Cor. IV, 7, 34. 

orts. Leavings ; remnants ; refuse. Lucr. 
985 ; Troil. V, 2, 158 ; Tim. IV, 3, 400. 

Osric, dr. p. A courtier. Hnil. 

ostent. Show; appearance. Merch. II, 
8, 44. In Per. I, 2, 25, where old eds. 
give stint of war, modern eds. give 
ostent of war. 

ostentation, n. 1. Display; show; ex- 
hibition. Hml. IV, 5, 215 ; Ant. Ill, 6, 
52 ; RII. II, 3, 95, 
2. A spectacle. LLL. V, 1, 118. 

Oswald, dr. p. Steward to G-oneril. Lr. 

Othello, dr. p. The Moor of Venice. Oth. 
Connected with the play of Othello 
there are two questions which have been 
the subject of much discussion. The 
first is : Was Othello really black ? The 
second relates to the means by which 
he efl'ected the death of Desdemona. 
The latter question will be considered 
under the words "So, So," which the 
reader will find in their proper place. 
Other questions, such as the real nature 
of the relations between Othello and 
Desdemona (to which an entire volume 
has been devoted) may be of interest to 
speculative minds, but they have not, 
to any great extent, attracted the at- 
tention of Shakespearean students in 
general. 

As to the color of Othello, the widest 
range of opinion prevails amongst the 
corns. Some, like Professor Wilson 
(Christopher North), maintain that he 
was black — with negro characteristics — 



OTH 



200 



OTH 



a veritable Blackamoor. Others, again, 
side with Coleridge, who says that ' ' it 
would be something monstrous to con- 
ceive this beautiful Venetian girl falling 
in love with a veritable negro." And 
one writer, Mary Preston, in her 
"Studies in Shakespeare," holds posi- 
tively to the opinion that Othello was 
absolutely white — not a blonde, of 
course, but simply a very dark brunet. * 

That black, as an epithet, has been 
frequently applied to dark-complexioned 
men of pure Caucasian extraction is 
common knowledge. Witness the well- 
known historical characters, ' ' The Black 
Douglas " and " Black Colin Campbell. " 
But it is evidently not in this sense that 
the word "black" is used by Sh. in 
this play, and I confess I cannot agree 
with those who hold that Othello, instead 
of being really black, was nothing more 
than a white man with a. very dark 
complexion. It seems to me that the 
mistake made by the majority of writers 
on both sides of the question, consists in 
treating it as if it were a real historical 
problem and not a mere dramatic one. 
We all know that there never was such 
a I'eal historical person as Othello. He 
is wholly a creation of Sh. genius, and 
the point to be decided is not : Was he 
really a black man ? but : Did Sh. in- 
tend to portray a black man ? and I 
think that the answer to the latter 
question must be in the affirmative. 

The following passages are far too 
strong and far too pointed to be explained 
away by any mere sentimental antipathy 
to the marriage, or even by making large 
allowance for dramatic intensiveness of 
expression on the part of the actors : 

What a full fortune doth the thick- 
lips owe. 0th. I, 1, 66. 

Bun froin her guardage to the sooty 
bosom of such a thing as thou. I, 2, 70. 

To fall in love with what she feared 
to look on. I, 3, 98. 

Your son-in-law is far more fair 
than black. I, 3, 291. 

* Brunette applies only to females. 



In this speech of the duke the fairness 
of the mental and moral qualities of 
Othello are contrasted with his physical 
blackness ; the speech would have en- 
tirely lost its point if Othello had not 
been actually black. 

Her-'" name that was as fresh As 
Dian''s visage is now begrimed and 
black as mine own face. Ill, 3, 387. 

It must be obvious to every attentive 
reader that the blackness of Othello is 
the pivotal incident of this drama. It 
is upon this that lago harps in his talk 
with Roderigo, and even in the dialogue 
with Othello himself, his argument is 
based chiefly on this point when he says : 

Not to affect many proposed matches 
Of her own clime, complexion and 
degree. Ill, 3, 229. 

So, too, even in the mind of Othello 
himself the first thought, when he is 
debating with himself the reasons for 
her supposed desertion, is Haply, for I 
am black. Ill, 3, 263. And it is notice- 
able that while he tries to soften the 
fact that he is " declined into the vale 
of years," and says, by way of paren- 
thesis, "yet that's not much," he does 
not say anything in excuse of his 
acknowledged blackness, as did the 
Prince of Morocco, Merch. II, 1, 1. 
Of course, there are negroes and negroes, 
and Sh. would not have made Othello a 
mere black savage from Guinea, but it 
is equally certain that he intended to 
describe a man of a race and color the 
very opposite to that of Desdemona. 

The traditions of the stage seem to 
vary as much as do the opinions of the 
coms., but the closer we get to the time 
of Sh. the darker do the Othellos be- 
come. Hawkins, in his ' ' Life of Edmund 
Kean," tells us that " Betterton, Quin, 
Mossop, Barry, Garrick and John 
Kemble all played the part with black 
faces, and it was reserved for Kean to 
innovate, and Coleridge to justify, the 
attempt to substitute a light brown for 
the traditional black." 

* My in the Second and Third Quartos. 



OTH 



201 



OVE 



othergates. Otherways ; in another man- 
ner. Tw. V, 1, 198. The word gate 
here is an old English and Scotch word 
which signifies way or road. Thus, in 
Tarn 0''Shanter we find : 

As market days are wearing late 
An' folk begin to tak the gate. 

ouches. Ornaments. 2HIV. II, 4, 53. 

ought. Owed. IHIV. Ill, 3, 151. 

ouphe. Anelf; a goblin. Wiv. IV,4, 49. 
" Oujjh, Steevens complacently tells 
us, in the Teutonic language, is a fairy ; 
if by Teutonic he means German, and 
we know of no other, he merely showed 
his ignorance. Ouph is the same as oaf 
(formerly spelt aulf ) and is probably to 
be pronounced in the same manner. It 
is formed from elf by the usual change 
of I into it." Keightley. 

ousel cock. The blackbird. Mids. Ill, 
1, 128. Spelled woosel in old eds. This 
bird is very different from our American 
blackbird. See robin. 

The meaning of the phrase, a black 
ousel (3HIV. Ill, 3, 8) is not very clear. 
The Clarkes merely note: "Master 
Silence speaks with mock-modest dis- 
paragement of his pretty dark-haired 
daughter." Dj^er thinks the phrase 
corresponds to our modern one, "a 
black sheep," but this seems to me very 
doubtful. 

out. 1. Abroad ; in foreign countries. 
Gent. I, 3, 7 ; Lr. 1, 1, 33. 

2. Fully ; completely. Tp. I, 3, 41. 

3. Not knowing what to say. LLL. V, 
3, 153 ; As. IV, 1, 76. 

4. Torn ; ragged. Cses. I, 1, 18. 
out=breasted. Out-sung. Kins. V, 4. 

See breast. 

out=dure. To outlast. Kins, III, 6. 

out=face. 1. To put on a good appear- 
ance. As. I, 3, 134. 

2. To put down by terror. Outfaced 
infant state. John II, 1, 97. 

Marshall says : " The meaning of this 
phrase is somewhat vague. ' ' The general 
meaning seems obvious, though the 
phraseology is rather peculiar. Marshall 
explains it thus: "Philip means that 
John has shamelessly disregarded the 



rights of the infant (Arthur) to the 
throne." The Clarkes paraphrase it: 
" Brazenly outraged a child's rights." 

out=herod. To give vent to excessive 
rage and bombast. Hml. Ill, 3, 15. The 
reference here is to the Herod of the 
old mysteries who was one of the most 
violent characters on the stage. Douce 
describes the Coventry play of The 
Nativity, in which a bombastic speech 
is followed by the stage direction : ' ' Here 
Erode ragis in thys pagond [pageant] 
and in the strete also. ' ' 

out=look. To look bigger than; to face 
down. John V, 2, 115. 

out=peer. Surpass ; excel. Cym. Ill, 6, 86. 

out=prize. To overrate. Cym. I, 4, 88. 
Not "exceed in value " as Scbm. has it, 
but to over-estimate. See prize. 

outrage. Passionate utterance. Rom. V, 
3, 315. Collier's MS. reads outcry, and 
Collier refers to the same act and scene, 
line 193, where Lady Capulet says : AH 
run With open outcry. See also IHVI. 
IV, 1, 136. Schm. explains as "an out- 
break of rage and fury." 

out=tongue. To speak louder than. 0th. 

I, 3, 19. 

outvied. Beaten by a higher card. Shr. 

II, 1, 379. 

out=waIl. Exterior ; appearance. Lr. 

III, 1, 45 ; cf. wall in Tw. I, 3, 48, and 
John 111, 3, 30. 

outward, n. Personal appearance ; form. 
Sonn. LXIX, 5; Troil. Ill, 3, 169; 
Cym. I, 1, 33. 

outward, adj. Not admitted to state 
secrets. All's. Ill, 1, 11. 

overbuy. To pay too much for. Cym. 
I, 1, 146. 

Overdone, Mrs., dr. p. Keeper of a dis- 
orderly house. Meas. 

over=scutched. Over whipped. Over- 
scutched huswives. 3HIV. Ill, 3, 340. 
In this passage huswives undoubtedly 
carries an evil sense. Nares suggests 
" whipped, probably at the cart's tail," 
a common method of punishing certain 
classes of evil-doers. Of the meaning 
of the words there can be no doubt. 
Skeat derives scutch or scotch from 



OVE 



202 



PAC 



scutcher, a riding whip. Cot. defines 
verge as "a rod, wand, switch or 
scutcher to ride with. " The word scutch 
is also a technical term used in flax- 
dressing and means to beat so as to 
separate the coarse outer covering from 
the fine inner fibre. 

overseen. Bewitched. Lucr. 1206. See 
o''erlook. 

overshot. Put to shame ; outdone in 
shooting. LLL. I, 1, 141 ; HV. Ill, 7, 
134. In the last passage it has been 
suggested that overshot means tipsy. 

overture. 1. Disclosure ; communication. 
Wint. II, 1, 172 ; Lr. Ill, 7, 89. 
2. Proposal ; offer. All's. IV, 3, 46 ; Tw. 
I, 5, 225. This word in Cor. 1, 9, 46, has 
never been satisfactorily explained, and 
is supposed to be a corruption. 

overween. To be sel f -conceited ; to be 
arrogant. 2HIV. IV, 1, 149; Tit. II, 
1,29. 

overwhelm. In addition to the usual 
meaning which this word has in Ado. 
V, 1, 9 ; 2HIV. I, 2, 13, and elsewhere, 
it has the sense of overhang in 



Ven. 183; HV. Ill, 1, 11 ; Rom. V, 
1,39. 

owe. To own ; to possess. Tp. Ill, 1, 45 ; 
John IV, 2, 99 ; 0th. Ill, 3, 332. 

Owen Qlendower, dr. p. IHIV. 

owl. A well-known bird. They say the 
owl ivas a baker''s daughter. Hml. 
IV, 5, 42. This alludes to a common 
legend according to which our Saviour 
went into a baker's shop and asked for 
bread. The mistress put a piece of 
dough in the oven to bake, but was 
reprimanded by her daughter for giving 
such a large piece. The daughter re- 
duced it to a very small size, but it 
immediately began to swell and soon 
became of enormous bulk, whereupon 
the daughter cried out, ' ' heugh, heugh, 
heugh," and was immediately changed 
into an owl. 

Oxford, Duke of, dr.p. A Lancastrian. 
3HVI. 

Oxford, Earl of, dr.p. RIII. 

oyes. The word of the court crier signi- 
fy mg Hear ye ! Hear ye ! (French, oyez. ) 
Wiv. V, 5, 45 ; Troil. IV, 5, 143. 




ACE, n. A step. He has no 
pace, but 7'uns where he will. 
All's. IV, 5, 70. Johnson ex- 
plains this as having " a cer- 
tain or prescribed walk ; so we say of a 
man meanly obsequious, that he has 
learned his paces, and of a horse who 
moves irregularly, that he has no 
paces." 

The passage : That by a pace goes 
backward, with a purpose It hath to 
climb (Troil. I, 3, 128) = "That goes 
backward step by step, with a design 
in each man to aggrandise himself, by 
slighting his immediate superior. ' ' John- 
son. Cowden Clarke paraphrases it 
thus: "By neglecting to observe due 
degree of priority, men lose ground 
while striving to advance ; since each 



person who pushes on regardless of his 
superiors will be pushed back in turn 
by them." 

pace, V. To train ; to teach proper move- 
ments. A horse-trainer's term some- 
times applied to men and women. Meas. 
IV, 3, 137 ; Per. IV, 6, 68. 

pack, n. 1. A confederacy for a bad 
purpose. Wiv. IV, 2, 123 ; Err. IV, 4, 
105. 
2. A budget or bag. See furred. 

pack, V. To plot ; to conspire, Shr. V, 

1, 121 ; Err. V, 1, 219 ; Ado. V, 1, 308. 
She has packed cards with Ccesar 
(Ant. IV, 14, 19) = conspired with 
Csesar. 

packing. Plotting. Lr. Ill, 1, 26. 
paction. Contract ; agreement. HV. V, 

2, 393. 



PAD 



203 



PAI 



In the Fl. the word is pation, and it 
has been rendered passion by some eds. 
Paction is a good old English woi-d 
which is still in common use in Scot- 
land. 
paddock. A toad. Hml. Ill, 4, 190. 

In Mcb. 1, 1, 9, the name of a familiar 
spirit, probably in the shape of a toad. 
The familiar spirits of witches frequently 
took the form of cats and toads, as may 
be seen in HeLl Brugel's painting of St. 
James (1560). In the Scottish language 
paddock or puddock signifies a frog. 
Thus, in a Scotch rhyme we have : 

Half a paddock, half a toad, 

Half a yellow yorling, 
showing that the paddock was not a 
toad. Cotgrave gives : " G-renouille : f. 
A Frog, a Paddocke." And in the 
later Wickliffite version the frogs that 
came up on the land of Egypt are called 
' ' paddockis. ' ' On the other hand, there 
are numerous examples in which pad- 
dock means toad. Thus the " Prompt- 
orium Parvulorum " gives: "Paddok, 
toode. Bufo.''^ It seems very certain 
that in Sh. paddock always means toad. 
The toad has always been regarded with 
a degree of dislike and disgust which is 
not shown towards the frog, and when 
Milton transforms Satan into a loathe- 
some and devilish object it is into a toad. 
Him they found, 
Squat like a toad close at the ear of 
Eve. 
This feeling arises partially from a belief 
that the toad is poisonous or venomous. 
Upon this point Mr. Prank Buckland, 
in his " Curiosities of Natural History," 
says : " Toads are generally reported to 
be poisonous ; and this is perfectly true 
to a certain extent. Like the lizards, 
they have glands in their skin which 
secrete a white, highly acid fluid, and 
just behind the head are seen two emin- 
ences like split beans ; if these be pressed 
this acid fluid will come out — only let 
the operator mind that it does not get 
into his eyes, for it generally comes out 
with a jet. There are also other glands 
dispersed through the skin. A dog will 



never take a toad in his mouth, and the 
reason is that this glandular secretion 
burns his tongue and lips. It is also 
poisonous to the human subject. Mr. 
Blick, surgeon, of Islip, Oxfordshire, 
tells me that a man once made a wager, 
when half drunk in a village public- 
house, that he would bite a toad's head 
off ; he did so, but in a few hours his 
lips, tongue and throat began to swell 
in a most alarming way, and he was 
dangerously ill for some time. " 

pagan. This word "seems to have been 
a cant term, implying irregularity either 
of birth or manners." Steevens. What 
a pagan rascal is this? IHIV. 11,3, 
31. What pagan [prostitute] inay that 
he ? 2HIV. II, 2, 168. Also Hml. Ill, 
2, 36, and 0th. I, 2, 99. 

Page, Mr., dr. p. A gentleman dwelling 
at Windsor. Wiv. 

Page, Mrs., dr. p. Wife to Mr. Page. 
Wiv. 

Page, Anne, dr. p. Daughter to Mr. Page. 
Wiv. 

Page, William, dr. p. Son to Mr. Page. 
Wiv. 

pageant, v. To mimic as actors do in a 
pageant or theatrical representation. 
Troil. I, 3, 151. 

painted cloth. This was cloth or canvas 
used as hangings for rooms, painted in 
oil, representing various subjects, with 
devices and mottoes or proverbial say- 
ings interspersed. It has been errone- 
ously explained to mean Tapestry. Dyce. 
Lucr. 245 ; LLL. V, 2, 579 ; As. Ill, 2, 
290 ; IHIV. IV, 2, 28. 

painted. Artificial, in the sense of unreal ; 
counterfeit. John III, 1, 105 ; Tim. IV, 
2, 36. My most painted word (Hml. 
Ill, 1, 53) = my most hypocritical speech. 
Whose TYiother was her pain ting. Cym. 
Ill, 4, 52. See mother. 

Painted one way like a Gorgon, The 
other way''s a Mars. Ant. II, 5, 116. 
" An allusion to the ' double ' pictures in 
vogue formerly, of which Burton says : 
' Like those double or turning pictures ; 
stand before which you see a fair maid, 
on the one side an ape, on the other an 



PAI 



204 



PAN 



owl.' And Chapman, in All Fools'' , 
Act I, sc. 1 : 

But like a couzening picture, which 

one way 
Shows like a crow, another hke a 

swan." Staunton, 

Such pictures are now in common use 
for changeable signs which show one 
set of letters from the front, another set 
from one side and a third set from the 
other side. 

painful. Laborious. Tp. Ill, 1, 1 ; Sonn. 
XXV, 9. 

pajock. Hml. Ill, 2, 295. This word has 
given rise to much discussion. Paddock 
(toad) has been urged as the proper 
reading, and other words, such as mea- 
cock, puttock, etc. , have been suggested. 
Dyce says : ' ' Here pajock certainly 
means peacock. I have often heard 
the lower classes in the north of Scot- 
land call the peacock a pea- jock, and 
their almost invariable name for the 
turkey-cock is ' ' bubbly-jock. ' ' Furness 
thinks ' ' Dyce's testimony is conclusive. ' ' 
That the word that Hamlet uttered was 
peacock, I think there can be no doubt, 
but it is obv ious that the word which 
he at first meant to use was ass. Note 
Horatio's remark : You might have 
rhymed. 

palabras. Paucas pallabris, a mutila- 
tion and corruption of the Spanish 
pocas palabras = few words. Ado. Ill, 
5, 18 ; Shr. Ind. I, 5. 

Palamon, dr. p. Nephew to Creon, King 
of Thebes. Kins. 

pall. 1. To wrap up ; to cloak. Mcb. I, 
5, 52. 

2. To decay ; to wane ; to go to wreck. 
Hml. V, 2, 9. 

palled. Ruined. Ant. II, 7, 88. 

pale, n. An enclosure, or, rather, the 
fence or paling surrounding an en- 
closure. Err. II, 1, 100 ; Hml. I, 4, 28. 
The line : For the red blood reigns 
in the ivinter''s pale (Wint. IV, 3, 4), 
has given some trouble to the coms. 
Farmer calls attention to the fact that 
"the English pa^e and the Irish pale 
were frequent expressions in Shake- 



speare's time " and explains the passage 
thus : " The red, the sp)ring blood now 
reigns o'^er the parts lately under the 
dominion of winter.'''' And in "The 
Henry Irving Shakespeare " it is sug- 
gested that there is a double meaning — 
pale = paleness, and pale = enclosure. 
But it is improbable that it means any- 
thing more than ' ' the red blood reigns 
in the place of the pale blood of winter. " 
Dyce. There is too much of this read- 
ing of far-fetched and irrelevant ideas 
into the writings of Sh. 

pale, V. 1. To enclose as with a paling. 
HV. V, Chor. 10 ; Ant. II, 7, 74. 
2. To make pale or wan. Hml. I, 5, 90. 

palliament. A robe. Tit. I, 1, 182. 

palmer. A pilgrim ; one who bears a 
palm branch in token of having made 
a pilgrimage to Palestine. AU's. Ill, 
5, 38 ; Rom. I, 5, 102. 

palmy. Flourishing ; prosperous ; superior, 
as if crowned with palm. Hml. 1, 1, 113. 

Pandarus, dr. p. Uncle to Cressida. Troil. 
The Pandarus of Sh, is a modern 
creation and has no resemblance to the 
original character as described in the 
lUiad, The Pandarus of Homer was a 
son of Lycaon or Lycian and commanded 
the inhabitants of Zeleia, on Mount Ida, 
in the Trojan war. He was distinguished 
in the Trojan army as an archer, and 
was said to have received his bow from 
Apollo. He was slain by Diomedes or, 
according to others, by Sthenelus and 
was afterwards honored as a hero at 
Pinara, in Lycia. 

The Pandarus of later romance and 
of Sh. is a mere go-between or procurer 
from whose name has been coined a 
synonym for such brokers. Troil. Ill, 
2, 211. For the origin of the modern 
form of the story see Cressida. 

Pandulph, Cardinal, dr.p. The Pope's 
legate. John. 

pang, V. To pain ; to torment. HVIII. 
II, 3, 15 ; Cym. Ill, 4, 98. 

pantaloon. An old fool; taken from a 
character in an Italian comedy. As. 
II, 7, 158 ; Shr. Ill, 1, 37. 

Panthino, dr.p. Servant to Antonio. G-ent. 



PAW 



205 



FAB 



pantler. A servant in charge of the 
pantry. Wint. IV, 4, 56 ; 2HIV. II, 4, 
258 ; Cjm. II, 3, 129. 

panyn. In the Fl., Tw. V, 1, 206, Sir 
Toby says of Dicke Surgeon that /le's a 
Rogue, and a passy measures panyn. 
The later Folios read Pavin. Pope 
changed to a ptcist ineasuy^e pyainim ; 
Rann to : and after a passy measure 
or a piavin. Halliwell and Steevens 
have expended a great deal of learned 
investigation on the two dances, passy- 
measure and pavin, q.v., but the re- 
levancy is not very obvious. That the 
drunken Sir Toby should use the not 
very common names of tAvo dances as 
terms of reproach, or rather of Billings- 
gate, is, to say the least, far-fetched. 
It is therefore more than probable that 
panyn is either a misprint or a drunken 
mispronunciation of paynim (the old 
word for pagan) which has always been 
considered a scurrilous epithet, and 
passy-measures ,mstesid of being a cor- 
ruption of the Italian name of a dance 
{%eQ passy -measure), is quite as likely 
to be a corruption of past meastire or 

' passing measure, so that what Sir 
Toby meant to say was : "he is a rogue 
and beyond measure a paynim or 
pagan." See pagan. 

The interpretation which makes 
passy-measures and pavin the names 
of two dances is that genei'ally accepted, 
and the ed. of '"The Henry Irving 
Shakespeare" says: "A metaphor de- 
rived from dances comes very character- 
istically from Sir Toby." See Tw. I, 
3, 136, et seq. But for all that, it seems 
to me that the scurrilous word paynim 
is the most appropriate here. 

papers. In Sh. time all criminals pun- 
ished by exposure to public view were 
compelled to bear on their breasts, 
papers describing their crime. It is to 
this that reference is made in LLL. IV, 
3, 48. On September 27th, 1631, John 
Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, had a play 
(said to have been Midsununer Nighfs 
Dream) acted at his house in London. 
For this he was severely punished and 



the court also made the following order 
in regai'd to the getter-up of the ex- 
hibition : 

' ' Likewise we doe order, that Mr. Wil- 
son, because hee was a speciall plotter 
and contriver of this business and did 
in such a brutish manner act the same 
with an Asses Head, and therefore he 
shall uppon Tuisday next, from 6 of the 
clocke in the morning till 6 of the clocko 
at night, sitt in the Porter's Lodge at 
my Lords Bishopps House, with his feet 
in the stocks and attyred with his asse 
head, and a bottle of hay sett before 
him, and this subscription on his breast : 
Good people I have played the beast 

And brought ill things to passe ; 
I was a man, but thus have made 
My selfe a silly Asse." 

Paphos. The name of two towns on the 
western coast of Cyprus and called 
respectively "Old Paphos" and "New 
Paphos. ' ' Old Paphos was situated near 
the coast, while New Paphos lay more 
inland. Old Paphos was the chief seat 
of the worship of Venus, who is said to 
have landed there after her birth among 
the waves. Hence, Venus is frequently 
called the Paphian goddess. In Old 
Paphos, Venus had a celebrated temple, 
the high priest of which exercised a 
kind of religious superintendence over 
the whole island which, in consequence, 
is frequently regarded as the home of 
sensual love, as is seen in the word 
Cyprian. Every year there was a 
grand procession from New Paphos to 
the temple of the goddess in the old 
city. There can be no doubt of the 
Phoenician origin of Old Paphos and 
that the worship of Venus (Aphrodite) 
was introduced here from the east. This 
would connect the rites with those of 
Astarte. Ven. 1193 ; Tp. IV, 1, 93 ; Per. 
Prol. 32. 

paradise, fool's. A common expression 
in Sh. time. Rich, in his " Farewell to 
Military Profession" (1581), has: "By 
praising of our beautie, you [men] think 
to bring us into a foole's paradise." 
The memiing is obvious — a belief in a, 



PAE 



206 



PAR 



good fortune which does not really 
exist. Rom, II, 4, 176. 

parallel. The word as ordinarily used 
requires no explanation, but as it occurs 
in Troil. I, 3, 168 : as near as the ex- 
tremest ends Of parallels, it presents 
some difficulty. Johnson says: "The 
parallels to which the allusion seems to 
be made are the parallels on a map ; as 
like as East to West." Schm., followed 
by several corns., explains it as "the 
opposed extremities of two parallels." 
But the opposed extremities of two 
parallels may be infinitely near to each 
other, and the implication here is that 
they are very far asunder. Johnson's 
explanation is probably the true one. 

Parcae. The three Fates. HV. V, 1, 21. 
See Fates. 

parcel. In part ; partly. Thus, parcel- 
bawd = partly bawd. Meas. II, 1, 63 ; 
parcel-gilt =^-pa.Ttlj gilt. 3HIV. 11, 1,94. 

parcel, v. To make into a parcel or lot. 
That mine own servant should Parcel 
the sum of my disgraces by Addition 
of his envy. Ant. V, 2, 163. Schm. 
explains pa?' ce^ here as "to enumerate 
by items; to specify." But this is an 
unusual meaning, although it is adopted 
by the "Century Dictionary." The 
idea here evidently is to fill up or com- 
plete. 

parcelled. Particular ; not general. RIII. 
II, 2, 81. 

pard. A leopard. Tp. IV, 1, 262 ; Mids. 
II, 2, 31. 

pardonnez moi. French for ' ' pardon me ' ' 
or " beg pardon. " RII. V, 3, 117 ; HV. 
IV, 4, 22 ; HV. V, 2, 108. 

Paris, dr.2J. A young nobleman ; lover 
of Juliet. Rom. 

Paris, dr. 23. Son to Priam. Troil. 

Paris was the second son of Priam 
and Hecuba. Before his birth Hecuba 
dreamed that she had brought forth a 
firebrand which had destroyed the 
whole city. Accordingly, as soon as 
the child was born, he was given to a 
shepherd with orders to expose him on 
Mount Ida. After five days the shep- 
herd returned to Mount Ida and found 



the child still alive and fed by a she- 
bear. Thereupon he carried the boy 
home and brought him up along with his 
own child, and called him Paris. When 
Paris had grown up, he distinguished 
himself as a valiant defender of the 
flocks and shepherds, and hence received 
the name of Alexander, i.e., defender 
of men. He also succeeded in discover- 
ing his real origin and was received by 
Priam as his son. He now married 
OEnone, the daughter of the river god, 
Cebren. But the event which has made 
his name so generally known was his 
abduction of Helen. This was brought 
about as follows : When Peleus and 
Thetis solemnized their nuptials, all the 
gods were invited to the marriage with 
the exception of Eris or Strife. En- 
raged at this slight, Eris threw amongst 
the guests a golden apple inscribed : 
"To the fairest." Juno, Venus and 
Minerva each claimed the apple for her- 
self, and Jupiter ordered Mercury to 
take the goddesses to Mount Ida, to the 
beautiful shepherd Paris, who was to 
decide the dispute. Juno promised him 
the sovereignty of Asia and great riches ; 
Minerva, great glory and renown, and 
Venus, the fairest of women for his 
wife. He decided in favour of Venus, 
and, of course, incurred thei enmity of 
Juno and Minerva. Under the pro- 
tection of Venus, Paris now sailed for 
Greece and was hospitably received in 
Sparta by Menelaus, whose wife, Helen, 
was the most beautiful woman in the 
world. Some say that he carried her 
off by force ; others claim, that under 
the influence of Venus, she accompanied 
him willingly. He also treacherously 
carried off much treasure from the 
hospitable house of Menelaus. These 
acts led to the Trojan war. 

Homer describes Paris as a handsome 
man, fond of the female sex and of 
music, and not ignorant of war, but as 
dilatory and cowardly, and detested by 
his own friends for having brought 
upon them the fatal war with .the 
Ureeks . He fought with Men elaus before 



PAR 



207 



PAR 



the walls of Troy and was defeated, but 
was carried off by Venus. He is said 
to have killed Achilles either by one of 
his arrows or by treachery in the temple 
of the Thymbraen Apollo. He, himself, 
was wounded by Philoctetes with one 
of the poisoned arrows of Hercules. He 
returned to his abandoned wife, CEnone, 
and asked her to heal him, but she, re- 
membering the wrongs she had suffered, 
refused. He then went back to Troy, 
and CEnone, repenting too late, hastened 
after him with those remedies which 
she, as the daughter of a god, knew so 
well how to apply. Paris died, and 
CEnone, in her grief, hung herself. 

In works of art Paris is represented 
as a beautiful youth, without a beard, 
with a Phrygian cap, and sometimes 
with an apple in his hand, in the act of 
presenting it to Venus. 

Paris=garden, ' ' The place on the Thames 
bankside at London where the bears are 
kept and baited. It was anciently so 
called from Robert de Paris, who had 
a house and garden there in Richard the 
Second's time." BlounVs Glosso- 
graphia. HVIII. V, 4, 2. 

Parish=garden. A vulgarism for Paris- 
garden, q.v. 

parish top. A large top ^''as formerly 
kept in every village to be whipped in 
frosty weather, that the peasants might 
be kept warm by exercise and out of 
mischief while they could not work." 
Steevens. Tw. I, 3, 44. 

paritor. An apparitor;- "an officer of 
the Bishop's Court who carries out 
citations ; as citations are most fre- 
quently issued for fornication the pari- 
tor is put under Cupid's government." 
Johnson. LLL. Ill, 1, 188. 

parle. A parley ; a talk ; a conference. 
Gent. I, 2, 5. Break the parle (Tit. V, 
3, 19) = break off this kind of talk. 
Angry parle (Hml. I, 1, 62) = angry 
conference. See Polaeks. 

parlous. 1. Perilous, of which it is a 

corruption. As. Ill, 2, 45 ; Rom. I, 3, 54. 

2. Amazing ; wonderful ; great. Used 

in the generic sense of excessive. Halli- 



well. Mids. Ill, 1, 14 ; RIII. Ill, 1, 1.54 ; 
Kins. II, 3. 
parmaceti. Spermaceti. IHIV, I, 3, 58, 
Parolles, dr.p. A follower of Bertram, 

All's. 
parrot. The sentence : Or rather, the 
prophecy like the parrot, '•'■beware the 
ropers ewcZ " (Err. IV, 4,45), "alludes 
to people's teaching that bird unlucky 
words ; with which, whenever any pass- 
enger was offended, it was the standing 
joke of the wise owner to say : ' Take 
heed, sir, my parrot prophecies.' To 
this Butler hints, where, speaking of 
Ralph's skill in augury, he says (Hudi- 
bras p. 1, c. 1) : 

Could tell what subtlest parrots mean. 
That speak, and think contrary clean; 
What member 'tis of whom they talk, 
When they cry rope, and walk, knave, 
walk." Warburton. 

partake. 1. To side with; to take the 
part of another. Sonn. CXLIX, 2. 
2. To communicate ; to impart. Wint. 
V, 3, 132 ; Per. I, 1, 153. 

parted. 1. Endowed with abilities ; dearZi/ 
parted = having good parts. Troil. Ill, 
3, 96. 

2. Parted eye (Mids. IV, 1, 194) = the 
eyes being out of unison so that the 
images in the two eyes do not coincide so 
as to form one picture. Certainly not 
"divided into pieces" as Schmidt ex- 
plains this particular passage. 

partial. A partial slander = a reproach 
of partiality. RII. I, 3, 241. 

parti=coated, | Dressed in a coat of 

party =coated. ) divers colors, like a fool. 
LLL. V, 2, 776. 

partizan. A kind of halberd or pike ; " a 
sharp, two-edged sword placed on the 
summit of a staff." Fairholt. Rom. 

1, 1, 80; Hml. I, 1, 140; Cym. IV, 

2, 399. 

Partlet. " The name of the hen in the 
old story-book of Reynard the Pox; 
and in Chaucer's tale of The Cock and 
the Fox, the favorite hen is called dame 
Pertelote.''^ Steevens. So called from 
her ruff. Wint. II, 3, 75 ; IHIV. Ill, 
3,60. 



PAR 



208 



PAT 



party=verdict. Whereto thy tongue a 
party-verdict gave (RII. I, 3, 234) = 
"you had yourself a part or share in 
the verdict that I pronounced. ' ' Malone. 

pash,n. The head. Wint. I, 2, 128. A 
Scotch word only used humorously. 

pashj-u. To strike ; to knock down. Troil. 

II, 3, 213 ; V, 5, 10. 

pass, n. 1. Act; proceeding; course. 
Meas. V, 1, 375. 

2. A term in fencing having two mean- 
ings : {a) a push ; a thrust. Hml. V, 2, 
61. ^eex>ractice. (6) A bout of fencing 
continued until one of the combatants 
is hit. Hml. V, 2, 173. 

3. Passage. Hml. II, 2, 77. 

Between the pass a7id fell incensed 
points (Hml. V, 2, 61), that is, to come 
between two combatants and, as Moberly 
says, " so as to get the dangerous wound 
which comes from the ' redding-straik. ' ' ' 
The Scotch have a proverb: "Beware 
of the redding-straik," that is, the 
stroke which one is apt to get when 
attempting to settle or " red " a quarrel. 
It is said to be the most fatal of all 
blows. See Scott's " G-uy Mannering," 
Vol. I, p. 278, of ed. 1829. 

pass, V. 1. To practise upon ; to make a 
sally of wit at one's expense. Tw. Ill, 
1,48. 

2. To care for ; to have regard for. 
2HVI. IV, 2, 136. 

passado. A pass or motion forward ; a 
term in fencing. LLL. I, 2, 188. 

passage. 1. Passers-by; no passage 
(0th. V, 1, 37) = no one passing. Stir- 
ring passage (Err. Ill, 1, 99) = passing 
crowds. 
2. Occurrence. Common passage (Cym. 

III, 4, 94) = ordinary occurrence. 
passing, adj. Excessive ; egregious. Gent. 

I, 2, 17 ; 3HVI. V, 1, 106. 
passing, adv. Exceedingly. Ado. II, 1, 

84 ; Mids. II, 1, 20 ; Hml. II, 2, 427. 
passion, -u. To feel pain and sorrow. Tp. 

V, 1, 24 ; Gent. IV, 4, 172. 
passionate, adj. Sorrowful. Gent. I, 2, 

124 ; LLL. Ill, 1, 69 ; John. II, 1, 544. 
passionate, v. To express sorrow. Tit. 

Ill, 2, 6. 



passy measures. Said by some to be 
corrupted from passamezzo, the Italian 
name of a slow, stately dance. For this 
reason the two words are hyphenated 
in many eds. Tw. V, 1, 206. Malone 
explains the expression thus : In this 
passage " Sir Toby means that the 
surgeon is a grave and solemn coxcomb. ' ' 
But see panyn. 

pastry. The room where pastry is made. 
Rom. IV, 4, 2. 

patch. Properly, a domestic fool, so 
called from his wearing a patched or 
parti-colored dress. Tp. Ill, 2, 71 ; Err. 

III, 1, 32 ; Merch. II, 5, 46. But it was 
used also to denote a mean or paltry 
fellow, as in Mids. Ill, 2, 9 ; Mcb. V, 3, 15. 

patched. Parti - colored ; motley. A 
patched fool = a fool in a parti-colored 
coat. Johnson. Mids. IV, 1, 208. Schm. 
gives paltry as the meaning, but no 
prominent com. agrees with him . Staun- 
ton describes a picture representing "a 
grand al fresco entertainment of the 
description given to Queen Elizabeth 
during her ' Progresses,' in which there 
is a procession of masquers and mum- 
mers, led by a fool or jester, whose 
dress is covered with many-coloured 
coarse patches from head to heel." 

patchery. Roguery ; bungling hypocrisy. 
Troil. II, 3, 77; Tim. V, 1, 99. 

patent. 1 . Privilege ; right. My virgin 
patent (Mids. I, 1, 80) = my right to 
remain a virgin. 
2. Warrant ; title. All's. IV, 5, 69 ; 0th. 

IV, 1, 209. 

The word paieni literally means open ; 
hence, letters patent (RII. II, 3, 130) = 
open letters, and such were issued to 
those to whom monopolies and special 
privileges were granted. 
path, V. In Gees. II, 1, 83, the word path 
has given rise to much discussion. The 
PI. reads : ' ' For if thou path thy native 
semblance on," etc. Modern eds. place 
a comma after path, and some place 
one after For. Coleridge is convinced 
that we should read "if thou pnt thy 
native semblance on;" Knight and 
Dyce agi'ee with him. Pope suggested 



PAT 



209 



PAU 



march; Grant White, hadst, others, 
pace or pass. Path is used as a verb 
by Drayton, but not exactly in this 
sense ; he speaks of patbing a passage 
and of pathing a way, that is, making 
or smoothing a passage or way. Sh. 
would not have hesitated to use 2JCiih in 
anyway that suited his purpose, so that 
Johnson's paraphrase: "If that walk 
is thy true form," may be accepted as 
the intended sense. 

pathetical. Caldecott's definition of this 
word (As. IV, 1 , 19(3) is "piteously 
moaning ; passionate. " Whiter explains 
it as : "A whining, canting, promise- 
breaking swain." 

Patience, dr. 20. Woman to Queen Kath- 
arine. HVIII. 

patient, v. To compose one's self ; to 
make patient. Tit. I, 1, 121. 

patine. "The small flat dish or plate 
[for holding the bread] used with the 
chalice, in the administration of the 
Eucharist. In the time of Popery, and 
probably in the following age, it was 
commonlj'- made of gold." Malone. 
Merch. V, 1, 59. 

Patrick, St. Hamlet's reference to the 
patron saint of Ireland has given rise 
to some comment. Warburton says it 
was because "at this time all the whole 
northern world had their learning from 
Ireland, to which place it had retired, 
and there flourished under the auspices 
of this saint." Tschischwitz remarks 
that if Sh. had wished to be historically 
correct, he would have made a Dane 
swear by St. Ansgarius. But since the 
subject concerned an unexpiated crime, 
he naturally thought of St. Patrick, 
who kept a Purgatory of his own. Fur- 
ness corrects the learned German by 
quoting a passage from The Honest 
Whore., in which St. Patrick is said to 
' ' keep Purgatory ' ' and not a Purgatory 
of his own. Moberly explains the use 
of this saint's name here by hinting that 
St. Patrick was the patron saint of all 
blunders and confusion. Hml. I, 5, 137. 

Patroclus, dr.p. A Grecian commander. 
Troil. 



Patroclus was the son of Menoetius, 
who was a brother of ^acus, the grand- 
father of Achilles, so that Patroclus 
and Achilles were kinsmen as well as 
friends. While still a boy, Patroclus 
accidentally slew Clysonymus, son of 
Amphidamas, in consequence of which 
misfortune he was taken by his father to 
Peleus at Phthia, where he was educated 
with Achilles, thus bringing the two boys 
very close together. Therefore, when 
Achilles joined the expedition against 
Troy, Pati'oclus accompanied him. He 
fought bravely and slew many enemies, 
but was struck by Apollo and rendered 
senseless. In this state Euphorbus ran 
him through with his lance from behind 
and Hector gave him the last and fatal 
blow. Hector then took possession of 
his armor, and a long struggle ensued 
between the Greeks and the Trojans 
for the possession of his body, but the 
former gained the day and brought the 
body to Achilles, who burned it with 
funeral sacrifices. 

patronage, v. To maintain ; to make 
good. IHVI. Ill, 1, 48 ; III, 4, 32. 

pattern, v. To be an example or pattern 
for. Meas. II, 1, 30 ; Wint. Ill, 2, 37 ; 
Tit. IV, 1, 57. 

pauca. A Latin word signifying few. 
It was adopted as a slang or cant term, 
and meant "be brief." Wiv. I, 1, 134; 
HV. II, 1, 83. 

pauca verba. Pew words. (Latin. ) Wiv. 
I, 1, 123. 

paucas. See pallahris. 

Paul, St. The body of old St. Paul's 
Church, in London, was a constant 
place of resort for business and amuse- 
ment. Advertisements were fixed up 
there, bargains made, servants hired, 
politics discussed, etc. , etc. Nares. In 
"The Choice of Change," by N. Breton, 
1598, it is said : " A man must not make 
choyce of three things in three places — 
of a wife in Westminster, of a servant 
in Paule's, or of a horse in Smithfield ; 
lest he chuse a queane, a knave, or a 
-'" 'e." Malone quotes from Osborne's 
1 .vlemoirs of James I.": "It was the 



PAU 



210 



PEE 



fashion in those times .... for the 
principal gentry, lords, courtiers, and 
men of all professions, not merely 
mechanicks, to meet in St. Paul's Church 
by eleven, and walk in the middle aisle 
tUl twelve, and after dinner from three 
to six; during which time some dis- 
coursed of business, others of news. 
Now, in regard of the universal com- 
merce — there happened little that did 
not first or last arrive here." 

Paulina, dr. p. Wife to Antigonus. Wint. 

paunch, v. To rip up. Tp. Ill, 2, 101. 

paved. Pebbly; stoney. Paved fouyitain 
(Mids. II, 1, 84) = a fountain whose bed 
was covered with clean gravel or pebbles 
and whose water was consequently clear 
and not easily muddied like that of a 
rushy brook, whose bed would be muddy 
or oozy. His paved bed (Meas. V, 1, 
439) = his grave, because paved or 
covered with a stone. 

pavilioned. Tented ; lying in tents. H V. 
I, 2, 129. The meaning of this passage 
is that although the bodies of the Eng- 
lish are still here, their hearts or spirits 
are in France eager for combat. The 
force and earnestness of this imagina- 
tive address is quite in Sh. style. 

pavin. Explained by some as a grave 
Spanish dance. Tw. V, 1, 207. But see 
p)anyn. 

pax. Peace. (Latin.) HV. Ill, 6, 42. 
The pax was the symbol of peace, and 
was a small plate of metal (either 
precious or common) which, during a 
certain part of the Mass, was tendered 
to the laity to be kissed, the priest say- 
ing : '■''Pax Domini sit setyiper vobis- 
cw9n" (The peace of the Lord, may it 
be always with you) ; it was also named 
osculatorium. On its surface was en- 
graved or embossed some religious 
subject, generally the Crucifixion. 
Sometimes erroneously confounded with 
pix. 

pay. To hit or kill in fighting. Tw. Ill, 
4, 305 ; IHIV. II, 4, 213. 

peach. To turn King's or State's evidence. 
Meas. IV, 3, 12. This is a common 
slang word at the present day. 



peak. To grow thin ; to mope. Mcb. I, 

3, 23 ; Hml. II, 2, 602. 

peaking. Sneaking. Wiv. Ill, 5, 73. 

pearl. A cataract in the eye. Gent. V, 
2, 13. A quibble or pun. 

Peaseblossom, dr.jJ. A fairy. Mids. 

peascod. Properly, a peapod, but in As. 
II, 4, 52, Touchstone evidently uses 
peascod for a peastalk. ' ' Our ancestors 
were frequently accustomed in their 
love afEairs to employ the divination of 
a peascod by selecting one growing on 
the stem, snatching it away quickly, 
and if the omen of the peas remaining 
in the husk were preserved, then pre- 
senting it to the lady of their choice.'' 
Halliwell. And in his " Dictionary of 
Archaic and Provincial Words ' ' Halli- 
well gives the following extract from 
Mr. Davy's MS. " Suffolk Gloss " : "The 
efficacy of peas cods in the affairs of 
sweethearts is not yet forgotten among 
our rustic vulgar. The kitchen-maid, 
when she shells green peas, never omits, 
if she finds one having nine peas, to lay 
it on the lintel of the kitchen door, and 
the first clown who enters it is infallibly 
to be her husband or at least her sweet- 
heart." 

peat. A pet ; a darling. Shr. 1, 1, 78. 

peck. To strike ; to throw. HVIII. V, 

4, 94. In some eds. pick. Probably a 
mere variant of pitch. 

peculiar. Preserved ; guarded. Meas. I, 
2, 96. 

Pedant, cZr.p. Personates Vincentio. Shr. 

pedascule. A pedant; a schoolmaster, 
Shr. Ill, 1, 50. 

Of this word Warburton says: "He 
would have said Didascale, but think- 
ing this too honourable, he coins the 
word Pedascale in imitation of it, from 
Pedant.'''' It evidently means teacher. 
Shr. Ill, 1, 50. 

Pedro, Don, dr.p. Prince of Aragon. 
Ado. 

peeled. 1. Having the bark removed. 
Merch. I, 3, 85. 
2. Shaved. IHVI. I, 3, 30. 

peer, v. 1. To come in sight ; to appear. 
Ven. 86 ; Wiv. IV, 2, 26 ; Shr. IV, 3, 



PEE 



211 



PEL 



] 76. For some ridiculous comments on 
this word as it occurs in Wiv. IV, 2, 26, 
see Donnelly's "Great Cryptogram," 
page 520. Ford's exclamation, "Peer 
out, peer out !" as he buffets himself on 
the forehead evidently refers to the 
horns, which are the well-known insignia 
of cuckoldom and M^hich he thinks ought 
now to appear on his head. 
2. To bi'ing inta sight ; to let appear. 
Lucr. 472. 
peevish. Silly ; foolish. Tw. I, 5, 321 ; 
RIII. IV, 2, 96 ; Rom. IV, 2, 14. Dow- 
den explains peeuis/i, in this passage, 
as childish, thoughtless, foolish, and 
quotes from Lyly's "Endimion," I, 1: 
"There never was any. so peevish to 
imagine the moone either capable of 
affection or shape of a mistris," and 
adds : ' ' Perhaps childishly perverse is 
implied." 
peg, V. To wedge. Tp. I, 2, 295. 
Peg=a=Ramsey. The name of an old 
song alluded to by Sir Toby. Tw. II, 
3, 81. Percy says it was an indecent 
ballad. The tune is preserved, but the 
words are lost. 

Scott makes one of his characters 
apply it in a contemptuous manner to a 
young woman. 
Pegasus. A famous winged horse which 
sprang from Medusa when Perseus 
struck off her head. His name, which 
means "a spring," was given to him 
because he was believed to have made 
his appearance near the sources of the 
Oceanus, which was believed to be a 
great river. He plays a prominent part 
in various mythological legends. Per- 
seus was riding on this horse when he 
delivered Andromeda from the sea- 
monster. See Perseus. Hence the al- 
lusion in HV. Ill, 7, 22, to a beast for 
Perseus. It was by the aid of Pegasus 
that Bellerophon slew the Chimgera. 
The association of Pegasus with the 
Muses is based on the following legend : 
When the nine Muses engaged in a 
contest with the nine daughters of 
Pierus on Mount Helicon, all became 
darkness when the daughters of Pierus 



began to sing ; whereas, during the 
song of the Muses, heaven, the sea and 
all the rivers stood still to listen, and 
Helicon rose heavenward with delight 
until Pegasus, on the advice of Nep- 
tune, stopped its ascent by kicking it 
with his hoof. From this kick there 
arose Hippocrene (the horse's well), the 
inspiring well of the Muses on Mount 
Helicon. Pegasus is often seen repre- 
sented in ancient works of art along 
with Minerva and Bellerophon. He is 
referred to twice by name in Sh. plays, 
IHIV. IV, 1, 109, and HV. Ill, 7, 15. 
In the latter passage he is described as 
having "nostrils of fire" — chez les 
narines clefeu, and is spoken of as le 
cheval volant, or the flying horse, 

pegs. The pins of an instrument by which 
the strings are brought into tune. 0th, 
II, 1, 203. 

peise, [ 1. To poise ; to balance. John 

peize. J II, 1, 575. 
2. To weigh down ; to render slow and 
heavy. Merch. Ill, 2, 22 ; RIII. V, 3, 105. 

pelican. From time immemorial this bird 
has served as an illustration of parental 
care and self-sacrifice, and it was adopted 
by some of the fathers as an emblem 
of Jesus Christ, ' ' by whose blood we 
are healed. " Various fables have been 
told of this bird, one being that when 
the young ones begin to grow they rebel 
against the male bird and provoke his 
anger so that he kills them ; the mother 
returns to the nest in three days, sits on 
the dead birds, pours her blood over 
them, revives them, and they feed on 
the blood. The common superstition is 
that when the mother pelican finds her- 
self unable to provide food, she tears 
open her own • breast and feeds her 
young with her blood. Thus, Sir Thomas 
Browne, in his " Enquiries into Vulgar 
and Common Errors," discusses "the 
picture of the Pelican opening her breast 
with her bill, and feeding her young 
ones with the blood distilled from her." 
It is needless to say that these ideas 
have no foundation in fact, the young 
being fed on fish, caught by the mother 



PEL 



212 



PEN 



and brought to the nest in the large 
pouch which hangs under her bill. 
Caldecott, in a note on Hml. IV, 5, 145, 
quotes the following from Dr. Sherwen : 
" It is not often that the grossest fables 
obtain currency without some founda- 
tion, or at least the semblance of truth ; 
and so by the pelican's dropping upon 
its breast its lower bill to enable its 
young to take from its capacious pouch, 
lined with a fine flesh-coloured skin, this 
appearance is, on feeding them, given." 
It is quite as possible that the idea may 
have arisen from the fact that the breast 
of the pelican is sometimes smeared with 
the blood of the fish which are frequently 
crushed or reduced to small pieces while 
in the pouch. This supposed character- 
istic of the pelican is referred to in RII. 
II, 1, 126, and Lr. Ill, 4, 77. In the Fl. 
the passage Hml. IV, 5, 145, reads : 
"And like the kinde Life-rend'ring 
Politician," upon which comic misprint 
Mr. Arthur Symons (" The Henry Irving 
Shakespeare," Vol. VIII, page 140) 
makes the following pertinent remarks : 
"I can fancy that, had not the Quartos 
preserved the true reading, comment- 
ators would have been found to defend 
the reading of Fl. even on grounds of 
sentiment. Might not the politician 
become a beautiful illustration of the 
patriot, feeding his country with his 
own blood ? It is still not too late for a 
German editor to take up the point." 

pellet, V. To form into balls or pellets. 
Compl. 18. Pelleted storm = a storm 
of hail. Ant. Ill, 13, 165. 

Pelops. The legend relating to Pelops' 
shoulder, referred to Kins. IV, 2, 21, is 
as follows : Pelops was the grandson of 
Jupiter and the son of Tantalus and 
Dione, the daughter of Atlas. He was 
King of Pisa, in Elis, and from him the 
great southern peninsula of Greece was 
believed to have derived its name of 
Peloponnesus. Tantalus, the favoi-ite 
of the gods, once invited them to a re- 
past, and on that occasion killed his 
own son, and having boiled him, set the 
flesh before them that they might eat. 



But the immortal gods, knowing what 
it was, did not touch it ; Ceres (Demeter) 
alone, being absorbed by grief for her 
lost daughter, Proserpine, consumed 
the shoulder of Pelops. Hereupon, the 
gods ordered Mercury (Hermes) to put 
the limbs of Pelops into a cauldron and 
thereby restore him to life. When the 
process was over, Clotho took him out 
of the cauldron, and as the shoulder 
consumed by Ceres was wanting, the 
goddess supplied its place by one made 
of ivory ; his descendants (the Pelopidee), 
as a mark of their origin, were believed 
to have one shoulder as white as ivory. 

pelt, V. To chafe with anger. Lucr. 1418. 

pelting. Paltry; insignificant. Meas. II, 
2, 113 ; Mids. II, 1, 91 ; Troil. IV, 5, 267; 
Lr. II, 3, 18 ; Kins. II, 2, 269. 

Pembroke, Earl of, dr.jD. William Mare- 
schall. John. 

Pembroke, Earl of, dr.p. A Yorkist 
noble. 3HVI. 

pen. The expression in All's. II, 1, 80, 
To give great Charle'inain a pen in''s 
hand, probably refers to the fact that 
Charlemain, late in life, vainly at- 
tempted to learn to write. Dyce. 

Penelope. Referred to but once in the 
plays. The allusion in Cor. I, 8, 93, 
will be best understood from her history. 
She was the daughter of Icarius and 
Periboea, of Sparta. There were many 
suitors for her hand, and her father 
promised to give her to the hero who 
should conquer in a foot-race. Ulysses 
won the prize, but Icarius tried to per- 
suade his daughter to remain with him 
and not accompany Ulysses to Ithaca. 
Ulysses allowed her to do as she pleased, 
whereupon she covered her face with 
her veil to hide her blushes, and thus 
intimated that she would follow her 
husband. Icarius then desisted from 
further entreaties, and erected a statue 
of Modesty on the spot. By Ulysses 
she had an only child, Telemachus, who 
was an infant when her husband sailed 
against Troy. During the long absence 
of Ulysses she was besieged by many 
importunate suitors, whom she deceived 



PEN 



213 



PEP 



by declaring that she must finish a large 
robe which she was making for her aged 
father-in-law, Laertes, before she could 
make up her mind. During the day- 
time she accordingly worked at the 
robe, and in the night she undid the 
work of the day. By this means she 
succeeded in putting off the suitors. 
But at length her stratagem was be- 
trayed by her servants and the suitors 
became more and more urgent. Just 
at this time Ulysses arrived after an 
absence of twenty years. Having re- 
cognised her husband by several signs, 
she heartily welcomed him, and the 
days of her grief and sorrow were at an 
end. See Ulysses. 
Penelophon. In most eds. this name is 

wrongly spelled ZenelojJhon, q.v. 
Pendragon. Referred to in IHVI. Ill, 
2, 95. ' ' This hero was Uther Pendragon^ 
brother to Aurelius, and father to King 
Arthur. Shakespeare has imputed to 
Pendragon an exploit of Aurelius, who, 
says Hollinshed, 'even sicke of a flixe 
as he was, caused himself to be carried 
forth in a litter : with whose presence 
his people [the Britons] were so encour- 
aged, that encountering with the Saxons 
they wan the victorie. ' " Steevens. 

" Hardy ng ('Chronicle,' chap. 72) 
gives the following account of Uter 
Pendragon : 

'For whiche the kyng ordeyned a 

horse litter- 
To beare hym so then vnto the Vero- 

lame, 
Wher Occa laye, and Oysa also in 

feer. 
That Saynt Albones now hight of 

noble fame. 
Bet downe the walles ; but to hym 

forth they came, 
Wher in battayU Occa and Oysa were 

slayne. 
The felde he had, and thereof was 
full fayne.' " 

Grey as quoted by Dyce 
penetrative. Affecting the feelings power- 
fully. Ant. IV, 14, 75. 
penner. A case for holding pens. Kin'? 
Ill, 5, 126. 



pense. French for ^^mfcs. (3rd pers. sing.) 
Pronounced as one syllable, the final e 
being silent. In Wiv. V, 5, 73, hq^ii 
soit qui mal y pense, the metre requires 
that this word should be pronounced as 
two syllables, so that the final e must 
be sounded. The word occurs also in 
HV. Ill, 4, 10 and 29 ; also in same, IV, 
4, 2 and 59, but these passages are in 
prose. Is it not quite possible that Sh. 
obtained his knowledge of French from 
books alone, and consequently had but 
a slight knowledge of the French pro- 
nunciation ? See also bras for his pro- 
nunciation of that word. One thing is 
certain : Bacon had nothing to do with 
this part of Sh. works, for he had lived 
in Prance and spoke French fluently. 
pensioners. Gentlemen in the personal 
service of the sovereign. Wiv. II, 2, 
79 ; Mids. II, 1, 10. Warton tells us : 
" This was said in consequence of Queen 
Elizabeth's fashionable establishment of 
a band of military courtiers, by the name 
of pensioners. They were some of the 
handsomest and tallest young men of 
the best families and fortune that could 
be found. Hence, says Mrs. Quickly, 
and yet there has been earls, nay, 
which is more, loensioners. They gave 
the mode in dress and diversions. ' 
And Halliwell notes that Holies, in his 
" Life of the First Earl of Clare," says : 
" I have heard the Earl of Clare say 
that when he was pensioner to the 
Queen he did not know a worse man 
of the whole band than himself, and 
that all the world knew he had then an 
inheritance of £4,000 a year." "They 
were the handsomest men of the first 
families— tall as the cowslip was to the 
fairy, and shining in their spotted gold 
coats like that flower under an April 
sun." Knight. 
pensived. Pensive. Lov. Compl. 219. 
Pepin. Surnamed " The short," was the 
son of Charles Martel, King of the 
Franks and founder of the Carlo vingian 
dynasty. He died in 768, and conse- 
quently the time when he lived is re- 
ferred to in LLL. IV, 1, 122, as being 



FEN 



214 



PER 



very long ago. HV. I, 2, 65 ; HVIII. 
I, 3, 10. 

Penthesilea. A famous queen of the 
Amazons. She was the daughter of 
Mars and Otrera. After the death of 
Hector, she came to the assistance of 
the Trojans, but was defeated and killed 
by Achilles, who mourned over the 
dying queen on account of her beauty, 
youth and valor. Thersites ridiculed 
the grief of Achilles and treated the 
body of Penthesilea with contempt. 
For this he was slain by Achilles, who 
buried her on the banks of the Xanthus. 
Others say that Diomedes, a relative of 
Thersites, threw the body into the river 
Scamander. In Tw. II, 3, 193, Sir Toby 
calls Maria, Penthesilea, probably be- 
cause she was very small, the queen of 
the Amazons being presumably large 
and strong. So in Act I, 5, 218, Viola 
speaks of her as " your giant." 

penthouse. A corruption ot pentice, the 
ice being corrupted into house. It 
means a sloping roof or shed projecting 
from the main wall or placed over a 
door or window. Ado. Ill, 3, 110 ; 
Merch. II, 6, 1. In Meb. I, 3, 20, it is 
used metaphorically of the eyelid. 

perch. By many a dern and painful 
perch. Per. Ill, Prol. 1.5. " 'A perch is a 
measure of five yards and a half,' says 
Steevens, and truly enough; but the 
unknown author of this portion of 
Pericles (using here the word for the 
sake of a rhyme) thought no more about 
the exact measure of a perch than Mil- 
ton did about that of a rood, when he 
tells us that Satan ' lay floating many 
a rood.'''''' Dyce. 

The word has also been explained as 
a resting or stopping place, but the 
exposition given above is probably the 
true one. 

Percy, Henry, dr. p. Earl of Northum- 
berland. IHIV. and 2HIV. 

Percy, Henry, dr.p. Son to Earl of 
Northumberland. IHIV. and 2HIV. 

Percy, Lady, dr.p. Wife to Hotspur. 
IHIV. and 2HIV. 
Sh. seems to have been so fond of the 



name Kate that he makes Hotspur call his 
wife Kate although her name ^as Eliza- 
beth. She was the daughter of Edmund 
Mortimer, third Earl of March, and her 
mother was Philippa Plantagenet, 
granddaughter of Edward III. She 
was born in 1371, and was named after 
her grandmother, Elizabeth de Burgh, 
wife of Lionel Clarence. 

Percy, Thomas, dr.p. Earl of Worcester. 
IHIV. and 2HIV. 

perdie, [ A mincing oath; a contraction 

perdy. \ of French par Dieu = by God. 
Err. IV, 4, 74; Hml. Ill, 2, 305 ; Lr. II, 
4, 86. 

Perdita, dr.p. Daughter to Leontes and 
Hermione. The name signifies "the 
lost one. " Wint. 

perdition. Diminution ; loss. Tp. I, 2, 
80 ; Hml. V, 2, 117. 

perdona=nii. Undoubtedly a corruption 
of i^ardonnez moi, q.v. Mercutio is 
ridiculing the affected style of speaking 
adopted by some of the young "bloods. " 
Rom. II, 4, 35. In the Fl., pardon- 
mee''s. Cambridge eds. read perdona- 
mfs. 

perdu. French for lost. A soldier sent 
on a forlorn hope. Lr. IV, 7, 35. 

perdurable. Lasting. HV. IV, 5, 7; 
0th. I, 3, 343. 

perfect, v. To instruct fuUy. Tp. I, 2, 
79 ; Meas. IV, 3, 146 ; Per. Ill, 2, 67. 

perfect, adj. Certain; well-informed. 
Wint. Ill, 3, 1 ; Mcb. I, 5, 2 ; Cym. 
Ill, 1, 73. 

perfections. The passage in Tw. I, 1, 
37-39, reads thus in the Fl. : 

When Liuer, Braine and Heart, 
These soueralgne thrones, are all sup- 

ply'd and flU'd 
Her sweete perfections with one self e 

king. 

It has given rise to much discussion. 
Warburton proposed to emend by read- 
ing Three for These, but the change is 
evidently unnecessary. He also changed 
Her siveete loerfections to : (O ! sweet 
perfection!), made it a parenthesis and 
placed commas after supply'' d and fiWd, 
but in this he was not followed by John- 



PER 



215 



PER 



son, who was the next editor. Several 
editors note that in the time of Sh. the 
liver, brain and heart were admitted, 
in poetry, to be the seat of passion, 
judgment and sentiment respectively, 
and Steevens adds: "These are what 
Sh. calls her sweet perfections. " Knight 
thinks this a mistaken interpretation 
and adopts Warburton's substitution of 
perfection tov perfections, the meaning 
of perfection being the completion of 
womanhood by marriage ; and in sup- 
port of this he quotes, from Froissart, 
the soliloquy of the rich Berthault of 
Malines, who was desirous to marry his 
daughter to the noble Earl of Guerles : 
"My daughter should be happy if she 
might come to so great a perfection as 
to be conjoined in marriage with the 
Earl of Guerles." C. and M. Clarke 
adopt this explanation and refer to John 

II, 1, 437; also to Tw. II, 4, 41, where 
"perfection " is held to mean not only 
the full-blown state in the rose, but 
completed loveliness in woman when 
matched with h er chosen manly counter- 
part. This, however, not only requires 
an emendation, but seems to me a some- 
what forced interpretation. In 3HVI. 

III, 2, 85, All her per feet ions challenge 
sovereignty, " perfections " simply 
means good qualities. 

Where so manj^ able editors have been 
unable to agree, it would be somewhat 
presumptuous to offer a positive opinion 
as to the meaning of the passage ; never- 
theless, a suggestion may not be out of 
place. 

The liver, brain and heart are evi- 
dently the thrones which are to be sup- 
plied with occupants. Whether they 
are to be supplied and filled or whether 
they are to be supplied and the sweet 
perfections filled with one self king 
seems to be the question which has 
caused most of the difficulty. According 
to Warburton, the thrones were to be 
supplied and filled with one self king, 
"her sweet perfections," or, as he made 
it, "(O! sweet perfection!)," being an 
apostrophe addressed to her good 



qualities. But the other reading, which 
is, that the thrones are to be supplied 
and her sweet perfections filled with 
one self king seems to me more in ac- 
cordance with the Polio text. Self, 
here, as in many other passages, is 
equivalent to same and implies one 
only. See self. 

But, however difficult it may be to 
work out the gramnaatical construction 
of the passage, there can be no difficulty 
or doubt as to its general meaning. It 
is a mere expansion, or, rather, an 
attempted philosophical explanation of 
the idea contained in the first half of 
the Duke's speech, worked out accord- 
ing to the psychological theories of that 
age. 

perforce. By force. Forceperforce = by 
very force ; an emphatic form of per- 
force. 2H VI. 1, 1, 258 ; 2HIV. IV, 1, 116. 

periapts. Amulets; charms. Cotgrave 
gives: " Periapte. A medicine hanged 
about any part of the body. " Usually 
about the neck. IHVI. V, 3, 2. 

Generally, however, they consisted of 
written charms, portions of the first 
chapter of St. John being considered 
especially potent. In illustration of 
this use of that particular passage, 
Malone quotes the following story from 
"Wits, Fits and Fancies" (1595): "A 
cardinal, seeing a priest carrying a 
cudgel under his gown, reprimanded 
him. His excuse was that he had only 
carried it to defend himself against the 
dogs of the town. ' Wherefore, I pray 
you,' replied the cardinal, 'serves St. 
John's Gospel?' ' Alas, my lord,' said 
the priest, ' these curs understand no 
Latin.'" 

Pericles, dr.p. Prince of Tyre. Per. 

Perigenia. Called Perigouna in North's 
" Plutarch, " and sometimes Perigune. 
The account given in North's trans- 
lation of "Plutarch," which was no 
doubt the source of Sh. information, is 
as follows : Theseus, having set out to 
rid the country of robbers, slew a robber 
called Periphetes, and then ' ' going on 
further, in the Straits of Peloponnesus, 



PER 



316 



P£B 



he killed another, called Sinnis, sur- 
nanied Pityocamtes, that is to say, a 
wreather or bower of pineapple trees 
[fir-trees], whom he put to death in that 
self -cruel manner that Sinnis had slain 
many other travelers before. [Sinnis 
killed his victims by fastening them to 
the top of a fir-tree, which he curbed or 
bent down, and then let spring up again.] 
Not that he had experience thereof, by 
any former practice or exercise, but 
only to shew that clean strength could 
do more than either art or exercise. 
This Sinnis had a goodly fair daughter 
called Perigouna, which fled away when 
she saw her father slain : whom he 
followed and sought all about. But she 
had hidden herself in a grove full of cer- 
tain kinds of wild pricking rushes, called 
stoebe, and wild sperage [asparagus] 
which she simply, like a child, intreated 
to hide her, as if they had heard and 
had sense to understand her ; promising 
them, with an oath, that if they saved 
her from being found, she would never 
cut them down or burn them. But 
Theseus, finding her, called her, and 
swore by his faith he would use her 
gently and do her no hurt nor dis- 
pleasure at all. Upon which promise 
she came out of the bush and bare unto 
him a goodly boy, which was called 
Menalippus. Afterwards Theseus mar- 
ried her unto one Deioneus, the son of 
Euretus, the CEchalian. Of this Menalip- 
pus, the son of Theseus, came loxus : the 
which with Ornytus brought men into 
the county of Caria, where he built the 
city of loxides. And hereof cometh 
that old ancient ceremony, observed 
yet unto this day by those of loxides, 
never to burn the briars of wild sperage, 
nor the stoebe, but they have them in 
some honour and reverence. ' ' Mids. II, 
1, 78. See Theseus. 

perishen. To perish. Per. II, Prol. 35. 

perjure. A perjurer. LLL. IV, 3, 48. 
Dyce says : " This word was formerly 
conunon enough (which I mention 
because here some editors print ' per- 
jured.')" In Sh. time convicted per- 



jurers and, indeed, all criminals exposed 
to public view, while undergoing pun- 
ishment, were obliged to wear on their 
breasts papers describing their off'ence. 
See pajoers. 
perked up. Dressed up ; adorned. HVIII. 

II, 8, 21. 
perpend. To reflect ; to consider. Wiv. 

II, 1, 117 ; As. Ill, 2, 69. 
per se. By himself. (Latin.) Troil. I, 2, 
17. " These words are used by Chaucer 
and other old authors to denote super- 
excellence or pre-eminence." Toone's 
"Glossary." 
Perseus. The son of Jupiter and Danae, 
and grandson of Acrisius. An oracle 
having told Acrisius that he was doomed 
to perish by the hands of Danae's son, 
he shut his daughter up in a tower of 
brass or stone. But Jupiter metamor- 
phosed himself into a shower of gold, 
came down through the roof of the 
prison and becarue by Danae the father 
of Perseus. As soon as Acrisius dis- 
covered that Danae had given birth to 
a son, he put both mother and son into 
a chest and threw them into the sea. 
Jupiter, however, caused the chest to 
float to the island of Seriphos, one of the 
Cyclades. where Dictys, a fisherman, 
found them and carried them to Poly- 
dectes, the king of the country. They 
were treated with kindness, but Poly- 
dectes fell in love with Danae, and not 
being able to gratify his passion in con- 
sequence of the presence of Perseus, 
who, meantime, had grown up to man- 
hood, he sent Perseus on an expedition 
to fetch the head of Medusa, one of 
the Gorgons. Guided by Mercury and 
Minerva, Perseus first went to the 
Grseee, the sisters of the Gorgons, 
took from them their one tooth, and 
their one eye, and would not restore 
them until they showed him the way 
to the nymphs who possessed the winged 
sandals, the magic wallet and the helmet 
of Pluto, which rendered the wearer 
invisible. He also received from Mer- 
cury a sickle, and from Minerva a 
mirror, and with these he mounted into 



PER 



217 



PET 



the air and arrived at the Gorgons, who 
dwelt near Tartessus, on the coast of the 
ocean, and whose heads were covered 
like those of serpents, with scales, and 
who had large tusks like boars, brazen 
hands and golden wings. He found 
them asleep and cut off the head of 
Medusa, looking at her figure through 
the mirror, for a sight of the monster 
herself would have changed him into 
stone. Perseus put her head in the 
wallet which he carried on his back, 
and as he went away he was pursued 
by the two other Gorgons,. but his hel- 
met, which rendered him invisible, en- 
abled him ta escape. He then went to 
-35thiopia, where he found Andromeda, 
the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiope, 
the king and queen of the country, 
chained to a rock, an oracle having 
declared that the sacrifice of a maiden 
was necessary to appease a sea monster 
which was laying waste the land. Per- 
seus slew the monster and married 
Andromeda. After many wanderings, 
Perseus, Andromeda and Danae re- 
turned to Argos. Acrisius, remember- 
ing the oracle, escaped to Larissa, but 
Perseus followed him and tried to per- 
suade him to return. The King of 
Larissa, in the meantime, celebrated 
games in honor of his guest, Acrisius, 
and Perseus, taking part in them, ac- 
cidently hit the foot of Acrisius with 
the discus and caused his death. HV. 

III, 7, 22. 

person. The old form of parson. LLL. 

IV, 2, 85. Parson is a mere variant of 
persona, and persona ecclesicc, "the 
representative of the Church, ' ' was the 
term applied to clergymen. Holof ernes 
makes a clumsy pun — person = pers- 
one = j)ierce one, which he and Costard 
elaborate between them. 

perso n age . Figure ; personal appearance. 
Mids. Ill, 2, 292 ; Tw. I, 5, 164. 

perspective. Shakespeare has several 
references to optical arrangements 
which cause things to present an ap- 
pearance very different from the reality. 
Douce says that in Sh. time a j^erspec- 



tive meant a glass that assisted the 
sight in any way. Some of these " per- 
spectives," however, were probably 
arrangements like the anamorphoscope 
in which distorted drawings were made 
to assume their proper appearance by 
viewing thein either in a curved mirror 
or from a particular point of view ; or, 
by means of glasses ground with differ- 
ent curves and facets, objects may be 
made to assuine the most extraordinary 
forms or be multiplied to any extent. 
Such glasses are described in Scot's 
"Discoverie of Witchcraft" (1584), and 
Douce says that they cannot be exceeded 
in number by any modern optician's 
shop in England. References to this 
are found in Sonn. XXIV, 4 ; All's. V, 
3, 48 ; RII. II, 2, 18. The effect which 
the Duke suggests in Tw. V, 1, 224, 
might be produced by a piece of glass 
with two facets arranged at an angle to 
each other. A single object, such as a 
person, seen through a glass of this kind 
would appear double, as the Duke 
describes. 

pert. Lively. Mids. I, 1, 17. In Sh. 
this word was not used in the somewhat 
bad sense given to it later. "Pert is 
still a common word in New England, 
used exactly in the Sh. sense and pro- 
nounced as it is spelled in the quartos 
peart, i.e., peert." Furness. 

perttaunt=Iike. A word of which the 
meaning has not yet been ascertained. 
LLL. V, 2, 67. 

Peter, dr.p. A friar. Meas. 

Peter, dr.p. Horner's apprentice. 2HVI. 

Peter, dr.p). Attendant on nurse. Rom. 

Peter of Pomf ret, dr.p. A prophet. John. 

Peto, dr.p. One of Falstaff's followers. 
IHIV. and 2HIV. 

Petrucio, dr.p. A gentleman of Verona ; 
the tamer of the Shrew. Shr. 

pettish. Capricious. Troil. II, 3, 140. 

pettitoes. The feet. Originally it meant 
pig's feet, but afterwards came to be 
applied in a jocular or colloquial way 
to the human feet, especially as used in 
dancing. Wint. IV, 4, 619. It does not 
necessarily indicate contempt, as som© 



PEW 



218 



PHI 



have it, any more than "fore-foot," as 
applied to the hand in HV. II, 1, 71. 

pew. A stall or pen. Lr. Ill, 4, 54. Milton 
(1659) uses the word in reference to the 
pens in which sheep were kept in Smith- 
field Market; now used only in refer- 
ence to seats in churches. 

pew=feIlow. A companion ; a comrade. 
RIII. IV, 4, 58. 

Phaethon. The son of Apollo by the 
Oceanid Clymene, the wife of Merops. 
His father gave him the significant name 
of Phaethon, that is, "the shining," and 
afterwards he was ambitious and pre- 
sumptuous enough to request his father 
to allow him, for one day, to drive the 
chariot of the sun across the heavens so 
that he might prove their relationship. 
After long persuasion by himself and 
his mother, Clymene, Apollo consented, 
but Phaethon was too weak to con- 
trol the fiery horses, which broke 
away from him, rushed out of their 
usual track, and came so near the earth 
as almost to set it on fire. Tellus then 
appealed to Jupiter for protection, and 
he hurled a thunderbolt which struck 
Phaethon and dashed him headlong into 
the river Po, where he was drowned. 
His sistei's, who had yoked the horses 
to the chariot, while standing lamenting 
his fate, were turned into poplar trees 
and their tears into amber. Gent. Ill, 

1, 153 ; Rom. Ill, 2, 3 ; 3HVI. I, 4, 33. 
See Phosbus. 

phantasime. A fantastical person. LLL. 

IV, 1, 103. 
phantasma. A vision. Caes. II, 1, 65. 
Pharamond. A king of the Franks who 

instituted the Salic law in a.d. 424. 

This law was afterwards ratified by 

Clovis I, in a council of state. HV. I, 

2, 37. 

Phebe, d7\p. A shepherdess. As. 
Phebe, v. To serve as Phebe does; to 

treat cruelly. As. IV, 3, 39. 
Pheezar. A nonsensical word coined by 

the Host. Malonesays, " A made word 

from p/iee^e," but this is doubtful. 

Most probably "made out of his own 

head." Wiv. I, 3, 10. 



pheeze. In the Fl. this is spelled p^ese 
in Troil. II, 3, 215 ; pheeze in Shr. Ind. 
I, 1 ; and in the old play fese. It has 
caused some trouble to the corns. Halli- 
well, in his "Dictionary of Archaic and 
Provincial Words," has "pheeze, to 
beat; to chastise; to humble." He 
refers to Sh. and Ben Jonson, and adds : 
"Forby has pheesy, fretful, irritable, 
which he supposes to be connected with 
this word." He also quotes from an 
MS. Devon Glossary : ^' To pheaae, i.e., 
to pay a person off for an injury." In 
Ray's "Proverbs"! find: "I'll vease 
thee. i.e. Hunt or drive thee. Somer- 
set.'''' It is probably equivalent to the 
colloquial expression, " I '11 take him 
down," used whether physical force or 
mere banter is employed. 

Rolf e quotes Mr. J. Crosby: "In the 
North of England they have a word 
pronounced p/ia.^e, meaning to make an 
impression upon, to stir up, to tousle, 
to arouse ; as in 'I called the man a 
scoundrel, but it never j^hazed him;" 
"I hit the door with all my might, 
but could not p/ia^e it. ' " Mr. Crosby 
thinks that perhaps this may be Shake- 
speare's word. We have a colloquialism 
in common use — to faze or to be fazed, 
which means to be astonished, dazed, 
daunted. The "Century Dictionary" 
gives as an illustration a quotation from 
Trans. Amer. Philo. Ass. XVII, 39, 
being the expression of a Vanderbilt 
professor in regard to a Kentucky 
teacher — ' ' nothing /a^es him. ' ' May it 
not be a variant of daze ? I have never 
heard it applied to material things, but 
the "Standard Dictionary" illustrates 
by, "the chisel will not fase this steel " 
(no reference), cf. The Scotch fazart, 
a coward. 

Phibbus. Bottom's blunder for Phoebus, 
q.v. Mids. I, 2, 37. 

Philario, d7\p. A friend to Posthumus. 
Gym. 

Philemon, dr.2?. Servant to Cerimon. Per. 

Philemon. An aged Phrygian who, with 
his wife, Baucis, lived in a poor 
"thatched house." As. 1X1,3, 11, Jupiter 



PHI 



219 



PH(E 



and Mercury once upon a time assumed 
the form of ordinary mortals, and in the 
guise of poor travelers wandered into 
Phrygia and visited a village where 
every one refused to receive them. At 
last they came to the hut of Philemon, 
where the two gods were treated most 
kindly. After the meal the gods as- 
sumed their true forms and astonished 
their hosts by their size and splendour. 
The poor old couple were frightened at 
first, but Jupiter reassured them and 
bade them follow him to a neighbouring 
height from which all the district was 
visible. Here the}^ saw the whole vil- 
lage, with the exception of their own 
hut, submerged and destroyed. The 
hut was metamorphosed into a temple, 
and Jupiter asked his hosts what favor 
they desired of him. Their prayer was 
that they might be made priest and 
priestess of the temple and die together 
at the same time. Jove granted their 
wishes; they served in the temple for 
many years, and at last one day when 
standing in the door of the temple they 
were metamorphosed into two trees 
whose branches met and closely en- 
twined with each other. Alluded to in 
Ado. II, 1, 99. 
Philip, dr.jy. King of France. John. 
Philip Faulconbridge, dr.jx Bastard son 

to Richard I. John. 
Philip. A sparrow. John I, 1, 231. Philip 
was, and still is, a name for the common 
sparrow, perhaps from its note, j^hip, 
phip; the speaker, now Sir Richard, 
disdains his old name Philip. Di/ee. 
Philip and Jacob. The first of May ; the 
festival of St. Philip and St. James. 
(Jacobus.) Meas. Ill, 2, 218. 
Philo, dr.p. A friend to Antony. Ant. 
Philomel. 1. The nightingale, g.u. Lucr. 
1079 ; Sonn. CII. 7; Mids. II, 2, 13. 
2. The daughter of Pandion. Lucr. 1128; 
Tit. II, 3, 43; Cym. 11,2,46. 

Pandion, King of Attica, who had 
two daughters, Philomela and Procne, 
called in the assistance of Tereus, son 
of Mars and King of the Thracians, 
against some enemy, and gave him 



in marriage his daughter Procne, by 
whom he had a son, Itys. Diiferent 
accounts are given of his treatment of 
Procne and Philomela, but the following 
is the one generally received : After five 
years of married life, Procne longed to 
see her sister, and Tereus went to fetch 
Philomela. As soon as he saw his sister- 
in-law he fell in love with her, and on 
the journey home he dishonored her. 
Philomela, having upbraided him for 
his perfidy, he cut out her tongue and 
shut her up in a tower, and on his 
return told Procne that her sister was 
dead. But Philomela wove the story 
of her wrongs into a peplus or kind of 
shawl and sent it to Procne, who took 
advantage of the Bacchic I'evels to go 
and liberate her sister. The two women 
then returned to the palace of Tereus 
and revenged themselves by killing Itys 
and serving up his body to Tereus, who 
partook of the horrible dish and was 
then told what he had eaten. He tried 
to kill Procne and Philomela, but they 
fled and he pursued them with an axe. 
When the sisters were overtaken, they 
prayed to the gods for help and were 
metamorphosed into birds, Procne be- 
coming a swallow, Philomela a nightin- 
gale and Tereus a hawk. 
Philostrate, dr.p. Master of the revels. 

Mids. 
Philotus, dr.p. A servant. Tim. 
Phoebe. The feminine form of Phoebus. 
It is a surname of Diana in her capacity 
as the goddess of the moon (Luna), the 
moon being regarded as the female 
Phoebus or sun. LLL. IV, 2, 39 ; Mids. 
L 1,209; Tit. I, 1,316. 
Phoebus. An epithet of Apollo, signify- 
ing The Bright or Pure, and used to 
signify the brightness and purity of 
youth. At a later time, when Apollo 
became connected with the sun. the 
name Phoebus was also applied to him 
as the sun-god. The references to him 
in Sh. are numerous. Tp. IV, 1, 31 ; 
Merch. II, 1, 5 ; Lr. II, 2, 114, and else- 
where. See Apollo and Phcethon. The 
allusion in Kins, I, 2, 85, to Phoebus, 



PH(E 



220 



FIG 



when he broke his whipstock, is to the 
story of Phgethon in Ovid. The day 
after Phsethon's death Phoebus could 
hardly be persuaded to drive the chariot 
of the sun once more, and wreaked 
some of his anger upon the horses, which 
he lashed severely." Skeat. 

phoenix. A fabled bird of Arabia, said 
to live 500 years, when it makes a nest 
of spices in which it burns itself to 
ashes and then rises with life renewed 
for another 500 years. There is said to 
be but one phoenix living at a time, 
hence it is a synonym for matchless ex- 
cellence. As. IV, 3, 17 ; Cym. I, 6, 17. 
The palm, or aate tree was said to be 
the habitation or throne of the phoenix, 
and Lyly tells us that "as there is but 
one phoenix in the world, so is there 
but one tree in Arabia wherein she 
buildeth." Tp. Ill, 3,23. It is to the 
spiced nest in which the phoenix is 
burned that reference is made in Kins. 
I, 3, 70 — where, Phoenix-like, They died 
in perfume. 

phraseless. Indescribable. Lov. Compl. 
225. 

Phrynia, rfr.p. Mistress to Alcibiades. 
Tim. 

physic. To maintain in health. Cym. 
Ill, 2, 34. 

physical. Wholesome ; medicinal. Cor. I, 
5, 18 ; Cffis. II, 1, 261. 

pia mater. Properly, the membrane 
which covers the brain, but used by Sh. 
for the brain itself. LLL. IV, 2, 71 ; 
Tw. I, 5, 123 ; Troil. II, 1, 77. 

piclc, V. To pitch. Cor. 1, 1, 206 ; HVIII. 
V, 4, 96. 

picked. Quaint ; punctilious. Not neces- 
sarily "refined," as Schm. gives it, but 
probably the opposite, according to the 
modern acceptation of the word. The 
term was common in Sh. time in this 
sense and is found in LLL. V, 1, 14; 
John I, 1, 193; Hml. V, 1, 151. In the 
first passage Johnson reads piqued, 
which he explains thus : " To have the 
beard piqued or shorn so as to end 
in a point, was, in our author's time, 
a mark of a traveller affecting foreign 



fashions; so says the Bastard in K. 
John : 

I catechise 
My piqued man of countries.'''' 

And on Hml. V, 1, 151, he remarks : 
" There was, I think, about that time, a 
picked shoe, that is, a shoe with a long 
pointed toe, in fashion, to which the 
allusion seems likewise to be made." 
But I think the use of the word by Cot- 
grave settles the true meaning. Thus 
he has the word "Miste: com. Neat, 
spruce, compt, quaint, picked, minion, 
trickesie, fine, gay .'" The Clarendon ed. 
thinks there may possibly be a covert 
reference here to the pointed shoes, but 
the context does not seem to favor that 
idea. 

pickers. The hands ; the fingers. Schm. 
defines the word as "thieves," which 
seems scarcely correct. The phrase 
pickers and stealers (Hml. Ill, 2, 348) 
means simply the hands, and is taken 
from the church catechism, where the 
catechumen, in his duty to his neighbour, 
is taught to keep his hand from pick- 
ing and stealing. Whalley. " By these 
hands" or "by these bones" was an 
old form of oath. See bones. 

picking. Petty; insignificant. 2HIV. IV, 
1, 198. Schm. defines as "sought in- 
dustriously," but all the best English 
coms. give "insignificant." 

pickle = herring. The ' ' pickle-herring ' ' 
of Sir Toby (Tw. I, 5, 129) was no doubt 
not only "preserved in salt liquor," but 
flavored with spices. It was an ai'ticle 
often eaten by topers to create an ap- 
petite for liquor. The learned lexico- 
grapher. Dr. Schmidt, who seems to be 
entirely destitute of all sense of humor, 
tells us tliat " Sir Toby seems to suffer 
from heart-burning." Not at all. He 
is drunk, but just sober enough to know 
that he is drunk, and the joke consists 
in his attributing his drunken condition 
to the herring instead of to the wine. 

Almost as rich is the comment by C. 
and M. Clarke, who quote the Spectator 
to show that " pickled herring " is used 
as a nickname, and add; "Thus Siv 



PIC 



231 



PIN 



Toby, asked what sort of gentleman the 
youth at the gate is, intends to describe 
him scoffingly, while a reminiscence of 
his last-eaten provocative to drink dis- 
turbs hnn in the shape of a hiccup." 
The judicious Rolfe doubts whether any 
such double meaning was intended. On 
the plural "herring" in the usually 
singular form, Rolfe notes: "Many of 
the editors have followed Malone in 
changing this to ' pickle-herrings ' ; but 
it is a legitimate plural, like trout, sal- 
mon and other names of fishes, cf. Lr. 
Ill, 6, 33: 'two white herring.' The 
regular form of the plural is also used 
[2HVI. IV, 2, 36], as in the case of some 
other nouns of this class. ' ' 

pick=thanks. Officious fellows. IHIV. 
Ill, 2, 25. 

Pickt=hatch. A place in London noted 
as the resort of bad characters. Wiv. 
11, 2, 19. 

The exact position of this celebrated 
locality has never been fully determined. 
It lay amongst certain scattered col- 
lections of small tenements, generally 
with gardens attached to them, and the 
name was probably derived from the 
iron spikes placed over the half-door or 
hatch, one of the characteristics of 
houses of a certain kind. See hatch. 

pie. 1. The magpie. 3HVL V, 6, 48. 

2. The service-book of the Romish 

Church, supposed to be meant in the 

oath hy cock and pie = by God and his 

worship. Wiv. 1, 1, 316 ; 2HIV. V, 1, 1. 

piece. The usual meaning is, a part ; a 
portion. And in this sense it is fre- 
quently used by Sh., e.g., Tp. I, 2, 8 ; 
Wiv. V, 5, 86, and many other passages. 
But there are some passages, such as 
Tp. I, 2, 56 ; Wint. IV, 4, 31, and V, 3, 
38 ; HVIII. V, 5, 27 ; Troil. IV, 1, 61 ; 
Gym. V, 5, 439; Per. IV, 2, 48, in which 
R. G. White claims that piece means a 
woman, and that in Sh, time the word 
was commonly used with that meaning. 
Thus in Constance of Cleveland ("Rox- 
burghe Ballads ") we find the lines : 

The knight with his fair piece 
At length the lady spied. 



And in Drayton's "English Heroicall 
Epistles " the word is used in the same 
sense : 

Nor by Ambitious Lures will I be 

bought 
In my chaste breast to harbour such 

a thought 
As to be worthy to be made a Bride 
A Piece unfit for Princely Edward's 

side. 

For a full discussion of the question, 
see White's "Riverside Edition," Vol. 

1, pp. XIV, et seq. 

pied. Variegated ; parti-colored. Tp. Ill, 

2, 71 (in allusion to the motley or parti- 
colored coat worn by fools) ; LLL. V, 2, 
904 ; Merch. I, 3, 80. 

pieled. An old way of spelling peeled, q.v. 

Pierce, Sir, of Exton, dr.j^. RII. 

pight. An obsolete preterite and past 
participle of pitch. Pitched ; fixed. 
Troil. V, 10, 24. Resolved ; determined. 
Lr. II, 1, 67. See straight-pight. 

Pigrogromitus. See Queiibus. 

pike. See rake ; also vice. 

pilchard, | 1. A fish much resembling 

pile her. ) the herring. Tw. Ill, 1, 39. 
2. A scabbard (cant and contemptuous). 
Rom. Ill, 1, 84. 

"No other example known as used 
here for scabbard ; probably the same 
as pilch, sl leather coat or cloak, and 
hence applied to scabbard." Doioden. 
Staunton con jectures pitch, sir ; Singer 
reads pitcher; Warburton, pi7c/te; in 
the Fl., Pilcher. 

piled. In the passage, piled as thou art 
piled, for a French velvet (Meas. I, 2, 
35), there is an obvious quibble between 
piled = peeled (stripped of hair ; bald 
from the French disease) and piled as 
applied to velvet, three-piled velvet 
meaning the finest and costliest kind of 
velvet. Dyce. 

pill, V. To rob ; plunder ; pillage. RII. II. 
1, 246 ; RIII. I, 3, 159 ; Tim. IV, 1, 12. 

pin. According to Gifford, the clout is 
"the wooden pin by which the target is 
fastened to the butt. As the head of 
this pin was commonly painted white, 
to hit the white and hit the clout were, 



PIN 



222 



PIT 



of course, synonymous." This explana- 
tion has been quoted quite extensively, 
but its accuracy is doubtful. See clout, 
ante. Mai one explains it thus: "The 
clout or white mark at which the arrows 
are directed was fastened by a black 
join placed in the center." This gloss 
is sustained by a passage in Middleton's 
No Wit, No Help Like a Wotnan''s, II, 

I, 27 : " And I'll cleave the black pin in 
the midst of the white." LLL. IV, 1, 
138 ; Rom. II, 4, 15. 

pin and web. A disease of the eye ; 
cataract. Wint. 1, 2, 291 ; Lr. Ill, 4, 120. 

pinch. 1. To trick ; to make ridiculous. 
Shr. II, 1, 373 ; Wint. II, 1, 51 ; Ant. II, 
7, 7. 
2. To steal. Wint. IV, 4, 622. 

Pinch, dr.p. A schoolmaster and con- 
juror. Err. 

Pindarus, dr.p. Servant to Cassius. Cses. 

pinfold. A pound ; a place where stray 
cattle are kept. Gent. I, 1, 114 ; Lr. 

II, 2, 9. 

pinked. Worked in eyelet-holes. HVIII. 
V, 4, 50. 

pink eyne. Eyes, small and half-closed as 
if looking through an eyelet-hole. See 
pinked. The word has no relation to 
pink, a color. Ant. II, 7, 121. 

pioned. Explained by some as overgrown 
with marsh-marigold. Tp. IV, 1, 64. 
The marsh-marigold is even at present 
called peony in the neighborhood of 
Stratford. Others define it as trenched 
or dug (pionered ?). The line has given 
rise to much discussion. See twilled. 

pioner. A soldier whose ofiice is to 
dig, level, remove obstructions, form 
trenches and do all work executed with 
unwarlike tools, as spades, etc. Captain 
Grose gives instances to show that the 
situation of a pioner or pioneer was 
formerly a degradation. A soldier, of 
course, considers himself superior to a 
mere laborer, consequently it must be a 
degradation to him to be turned into 
that corps. Nares. Hml. 1, 5, 163 ; Oth. 
Ill, 3, 346. In "The Laws and Ordinances 
of War," established by the Earl of 
Essex, and printed in 1640, is the follow- 



ing : " If a trooper shall loose his horse 
or hackney, or a footman any part of 
his arms, by negligence or lewdness, by 
dice or cardes, he or they shall remain 
in qualitie of pioners or scavengers, till 
they be furnished with as good as were 
lost, at their own charge." Walker 
shows that the spelling pioner must be 
retained on account of the verse. 

A pioneer is now a honorable desig- 
nation, and the work of preparing the 
way for the army is confided to a highly 
trained corjjs, the Sappers and Miners. 

pip. A spot on a card. Shr. I, 2, 33. A 
2np out = intoxicated, with reference 
to a game called " one and thirty." 

pipe=wine. Wine from the butt or pipe. 
Wiv. Ill, 2, 94. A play upon the other 
meaning of pipe ; a musical instrument 
to which country people often danced. 

Pirithous, dr.j}. An Athenian general. 
Kins. 

Pisanio, dr.p. Servant to Posthumus. 
Gym. 

Pistol, dr.p. One of Falstaff' s followers 
and a soldier in the army of Henry V. 
Wiv.,2HIV. andHV. 

pistol's length. Evidently not the mere 
length of the weapon, but its range or 
the distance at which it is effective. 
Per. I, 1, 168. 

This is, of course, a gross anachronism, 
and, indeed, the same is true of the 
mention of the pistol in every play ex- 
cept, perhaps. The Merry Wives of 
Windsor. Steevens notes that Beau- 
mont and Fletcher in The Humorous 
Lieutenant have equipped Demetrius 
Poliorcetes, one of the immediate suc- 
cessors of Alexander the Great, with 
the same weapon. But these mistakes 
do not detract in the slightest from the 
effect of the play. 

pitch, n. The height to which a falcon 
soars. RII. I, 1, 109; 2HVI. II, 1, 6. 
In Sonn. VII, 9, it refers to the position 
of the sun at noon. 

The meaning of the passage (HVIII. 
II, 2, 49), Into what pitch he please, is 
not very clear. Hanmer reads ' ' pinch ;' ' 
Theobald suggests "batch;" Rolfei de- 



PIT 



223 



PLA 



fines pitch here as stature, height ; 
Schm. , height ? or baseness ? 
pitch, V. To place firmly ; to set. Meas. 

II, 2, 172 ; RIII. V, 3, 1. 

" To understand the allusion in IHVI. 

III, 1, 103, it must be remembered that 
before beginning a battle it was cus- 
tomary for the archers and other foot- 
men to encompass themselves with sharp 
stakes firmly pitched in the ground to 
prevent their being overpowered by the 
cavalry." Staunton. This is clearly 
described in same play, I, 1, 115, et seq. 

The expression pitch and play, HV. 
II, 3, 51, was a proverbial one in Sh. 
time, and meant to pay down at once 
or pay on delivery. The origin is 
obscure, though the meaning is well 
settled. Middleton's Blurt, Master 
Constable, I, 2, 171, has, 
But will you pitch and pay, or will 
your worship run ? 
In Herod and Antipater we find, 

He that will purchase this 
Must pitch and pay. 
It is said that the expression is derived 
from the term pitching as used in 
market places, meaning to secure a 
stand. One of the old laws of Black well 
Hall was that "a penny be paid by the 
owner of every bale of cloth for pitch- 
ing." Nares. 

pittikins. Little pity. Being pity with 
the addition of the aflSix kin {lainbkin, 
bodikins, etc). Cym. IV, 2, 293. See 
'Od's. 

pity. The phrase, it were pity of my life, 
Mids. Ill, 1, 44, has a peculiar con- 
struction. See " Shakespearean Gram- 
mar," sec. 174. The meaning is, "it 
were a sad thing for my life, that is, 
forme." Wright, cf. Wiv. I, 1,40; 
Meas. II, 1, 77. 

placket. This word occurs five times in 
Sh., and although it was common and 
well-understood in his day, it has given 
rise to no little discussion amongst 
modern coms. It has been taken to 
mean a petticoat, an under petticoat, a 
stomacher, a woman's pocket, a slit in 
a petticoat and, figuratively, a woman. 



That it has the last meaning in LLL. 
Ill, 1, 186, and Troil. II, 3, 22, is very 
obvious. In Wiut. IV, 4, 622, it prob- 
ably means a woman's pocket ; pinching 
a placket and gelding a codpiece of a 
purse are similar expressions, strictly 
in Autolycus's line, he being confessedly 
a pickpocket and thief. Pinch is even 
now a slang word for certain kinds of 
theft. See "Lexicon Balatronicum. " 
We may here note that the placket or 
woman's pocket was not " a pocket in a 
woman's dress," as stated in the " Cen- 
tury Dictionary." Elderly men, whose 
memory goes back to the time when 
their grandmothers or, perhaps, mothers 
wore the old-fashioned pocket or placket, 
will remember that it was a peculiarly 
shaped bag which was carried by being 
tied round the waist by means of strong 
tape, and was reached through a hole 
in the dress or even petticoat, called 
the placket-hole. Old-country boys of 
seventy years ago, if now living, must 
remember these pockets with delight. 
They were quite capacious and always 
contained a store of good things. 

So far then, the meaning of placket 
in three out of the five passages seems 
obvious, but in Wint. IV, 4, 245, and 
Lr. Ill, 4, 100, the application is not so 
clear and, indeed, can scarcely be dis- 
cussed fully in this place. That placket 
sometimes meant a petticoat is certain. 
Thus, in Crowme's " Sir Courtly Nice," 
II (1685), we find, " The word Love is a 
fig-leaf to cover the naked sense, a 
fashion brought up by Eve, the mother 
of jilts ; she cuckolded her husband 
with the serpent, then pretended to 
modesty, and fell a making plackets 
presently." The conclusion reached by 
White is this : " It is clear, at least, that 
the placket, in Shakespeare's time and 
after, was an article of feminine apparel 
so secret as not to admit description, 
and so common as not to require it ; and 
that, consequently, the thing having 
passed out of use, the word statnoniinis 
umbra.'''' Furness, referring to the use 
of this word in Wint. IV, 4, 245, says : 



PLA 



224 



PLE 



"It is quite sufficient to comprehend 
that the clown asks in effect, Will you 
wear as an outer garment that which 
should be an inner one?" Those who 
desire to look further into the subject 
should consult White's "Studies in 
Shakespeare," p. 342, and Halli well's 
" Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial 
Words." s.v. placket. 

plain song. "By which expression the 
uniform modulation or simplicity of the 
chaunt was anciently distinguished, in 
opposition to prick-song or variegated 
music sung by note. ' ' T. Warton. Mids. 
Ill, 1, 134; HVIII. 1,3,45. 

plaited. Folded ; intricate. Lr. 1, 1, 183, 

plane hed. Made of planks or boards. 
Meas. IV, 1, 30. 

plant. The sole of the foot. Ant. II, 7, 2. 

plantage. Anything planted ; vegetation. 
Ellacombe, however, thinks it means 
plantain. Troil. Ill, 2, 184. Warburton 
thinks that this passage refers distinctly 
to the influence of the moon upon grow- 
ing plants. That this idea was a very 
common one at that time is shown by 
the directions given by Tusser in his 
"Five Hundred Points of Good Hus- 
bandry," under February, where he 
says: 

Sow peason and beans, in the wane of 
the moon, 

Who soweth them sooner, he soweth 
too soon. 

That they with the planet may rest 
and arise. 

And ilourish, with bearing most plen- 
tiful wise. 

The superstition is not yet extinct. 
Many of the Dutch farmers in Penn- 
sylvania observe the waxing and waning 
of the moon and in their agricultural 
operations follow its indications most 
religiously. 
Plantagenet, Richard, dr. p. Duke of 
York. IHVI., 2HVI. and 3HVI. 

The nsLvne Plantagenet literally means 
broom-plant, which was the emblem of 
Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. His son, 
Henry II, founded the Plantagenet line 
of English kings. The origin of the term 



is very uniquely given in the well-known 
lines of Barham : 

A very great king who'd an Angevin 

hat. 
With a great sprig of broom, which 

he wore as a badge in it, 
Named from this circumstance, Henry 

Plantagenet. 

There were eight kings in this line, 
ending with Richard II, who died in 
1399. 

plantain. A common plant of which 
there are several species. Still in com- 
mon use by country people as a healing 
application for wounds. It seems to 
act as a styptic when bruised or chewed 
and laid on a cut. LLL. Ill, 1, 75. 

plantation. Colonizing ; establishing ; 
founding of laws and manners. Tp. II, 
1, 143. The colonies in Virginia and 
Massachusetts were called "planta- 
tions," not from any reference to the 
setting out of trees or other plants, 
but because the word was in use as a 
sjaionym for colony. 

plash. A pool of water. Shr. I, 1, 23. 

plate, n. A flat piece of metal, hence 
money. Ant. V, 2, 92. 

plate, V. To clothe in armor. RII. I, 3, 
28 ; Lr. IV, 6, 169; Ant. I, 1, 4. 

platform. Scheme ; plan. IHVI. II, 1, 77. 

plausibly. By acclamation. Lucr. 1854. 

plausive. Plausible ; pleasing ; specious. 
All's. I, 2, 53 ; Hml. I, 4, 30. 

Players, dr.p. Characters in the Induc- 
tion. Shr. 

Players, dr.p. Characters in the play. 
Hml. 

play=feres. Playmates. Kins. IV, 3, 92. 
See fere. 

pleached. Interwoven; intertwined. Ado. 
Ill, 1, 7; Ant. IV, 14, 73. 

"In Ado. I, 2, 10, it may be that 
it is the sides of the ' alley ' that are 
'pleached,' but in III, 1, 7, it would 
appear that the bower is pleached over- 
head by the honey -suckles. The over- 
head pleaching seems more in accord- 
ance with the Italian practice, but thick 
pleached hedges are better adapted to 
conceal listeners. " Furness. 



PLE 



225 



PLU 



pleas=man. An ofiicious or servile person 
who courts favor ; a pick thank. LLL. 
V, 2, 463. 

pledge. Used by a sort of metononiy for 
drink. To pledge one in a cup is to 
drink with one. The triumph of his 
pledge (Hml. I, 4, 12) = his glorious 
achievement as a drinker, cf. Burns's 
ballad of The Whistle, of the origin of 
which he gives the following account: 
"In the train of Anne of Denmark, 
when she came to Scotland with our 
James the Sixth, there came over also 
a Danish gentleman of gigantic stature 
and great prowess and a matchless 
champion of Bacchus. He had a little 
ebony whistle, which at the commence- 
ment of the orgies he laid on the table ; 
and whoever was last able to blow it, 
everybody else being disabled by the 
potency of the bottle, was to carry off 
the whistle as a trophy of victory. * * * 
After many overthrows on the part of 
the Scots, the Dane was encountered by 
Sir Robert Laurie, of Maxwelton, who, 
after three days and three nights hard 
contest, left the Scandinavian under the 
table and 'blew on the whistle his re- 
quiem shrill.' " 

So it would appear that the reputation 
of the Danes for potency in drinking 
was generally acknowledged in the time 
of Shakespeare. 

plighted. Folded ; intricate. Lr. I, 1, 28.3. 

pluck up. To rouse up. Pluck up, my 
heart, and be sad (Ado. V, 1, 207) = 
rouse yourself and be serious. See sad. 

plume up. This phrase, as it occurs in 
0th. I, 3, 399, has generally been ex- 
plained as to cause to triumph, some- 
what in the sense in which we use the 
expression "he plumes himself upon 
such or such a feat, ' ' and Cowden Clarke, 
accepting it in this sense, has the fol- 
lowing note: "This, in lago's mouth, 
has most characteristic effect ; as if any 
project that involved reduplication of 
knavery were a feather in the cap of 
his depraved will — a thing to plume 
himself upon as a feat of intellectual 
volition. The words Shakespeare chooses 



are so significant, so inclusive, that thoy 
suggest a crowd of images in their ex- 
pressive conciseness." And yet I doubt 
the accuracy of the gloss. lago is study- 
ing how to undermine Cassio; he has 
made his decision and determines to 
" plume up" — that is, to strengthen or 
brace up his will so that this determina- 
tion may be carried out. The glory, if 
such it might be called, would not accrue 
to his will, but to his inventive powers; 
and he tries to get his will in good 
feather, like a vigorous bird, and not 
like one whose feathers droop. The 
First Quarto has ma/ce instead of plume, 
which seems to confirm my suspicion. 
pluresie, \ Superabundance; unnatural 
pluresy. ) excess ; plethora. Hml. IV, 
7, 117 ; Kins. V, 1, 66. 

This word is not the same as the name 
of the disease known to modern medicine 
as pleurisy. Pleurisy is the name now 
given to inflammation of the pleural 
covering of the lungs. The word 
pluresy is "evidently formed as if from 
Latin pluri — crude form of plus, more 
— by an extraordinary confusion with 
pleurisy.'''' Skeat. 
Pluto. The god of the infernal regions. 
He was the son of Saturn and Rhea and 
brother of Jupiter and Neptune. In 
the division of the world among the 
three brothers Pluto obtained the nether 
world, the abode of the shades over 
which he reigns. He carried off Proser- 
pine (see Proserpine) and made her 
his wife. He possessed a helmet which 
rendered the wearer invisible, and the 
old legends say that both gods and men 
were honored by Pluto with the tem- 
porary use of it. (See Perseus.) His 
character is described as fierce and 
inexorable, whence of all the gods he 
was most hated by mortals. He was 
called by the Greeks Hades and by the 
Romans Orcus, Tartartis and Dis. He 
is represented as an elderly man with a 
dignified, but severe, aspect, and often 
as holding in his hand a two-pronged 
fork. His ordinary attributes are the 
key of Hades and Cerberus. Referred 



PLTJ 



236 



POL 



to in several passages, amongst others, 
2HIV. II, 4, 169 ; Troil. IV, 4, 129 ; Cor. 

1, 4, 36. 

Plutus. The god of gold and riches ; re- 
garded as the personification of wealth. 
He was the son of lasion and Ceres. It 
is said that at the wedding of Harnionia, 
the sister of lasion, Ceres fell in love 
with him and in a thrice-ploughed field 
became by him the mother of Plutus. 
It is said that Jupiter deprived him of 
sight so that he might not bestow his 
favors on righteous men exclusively, 
but that he might distribute his gifts 
blindly and without regard to merit. 
In ancient art he seems to have been 
commonly represented as a boy with a 
cornucopia. All's. V, 3, 101 ; Troil. Ill, 
3, 197; Tim. I, 1, 287. 

ply. See music. 

Poins, dr. p. One of Falstaff 's followers. 
IHIV. and 2HIV. 

point. 1. "A tagged lace, common in 
ancient dress — points being generallj^ 
used to fasten the hose or breeches to 
the doublet, but sometimes serving 
merely for ornament. Shr. Ill, 2, 49. 
Ties his points = acts as his body 
servant. Ant. Ill, 13, 157. Very obvious 
punning in Tw. I, 5, 25 ; IHIV. II, 4, 
238 ; Wint. IV, 4, 206. 

2. A signal given by the blast of trum- 
pet. 2HIV. IV, 1, 52. Hence = direc- 
tion; command. Cor. IV, 6, 125. 

3. A quibble on the French negative ne 
point = not at all. No 2ioint in English 
is a punning form of not at all in French. 
LLL. II, 1, 190; V, 2, 277. Touching 
now the 'point of hutnan skill (Mids. II, 

2, 119) = having reached the height of 
discernment possible to man. 

point = blank. Without elevating the 
muzzle ; hence, direct^. Wiv. Ill, 2, 
35 ; 2HVI. IV, 7, 28. Schm. defines it 
as "with a certain aim, so as not to 
miss." But this does not at all convey 
the idea, which is rather that of " with- 
in easy range." 

point=device, ) 1. Affectedly nice; finical. 

point=devise. j A translation of the old 
French : d point devis = according to a 



point that is devised or imagined. As. 
Ill, 2, 401. 
2. Exactly. Tw. II, 5, 176. 

poking=sticks. Irons for setting out ruffs. 
Wint. IV, 3, 228. 

Polack. The Polanders. Said by some 
to be used in the singular as " Dane " is 
in Hml. I, 2, 44. The cases are different, 
however. Is it not rather an adjective, 
people being understood as when we say 
the British ? At any rate, the meaning 
is obvious in Hml. II, 2, 75 ; do. IV, 4, 
23, and V, 2, 388. In the Fl. the modes 
of spelling in these passages are, Poleak 
in the first, and Polake in the third. 
The sentence containing the second 
quotation is omitted from the Fl., and 
a long passage has here been supplied 
to the g. a. text from the Quartos. The 
word as used in this sense is probably 
adopted from the French Polaque. But 
the meaning of the word found in Hml. 
I, 1, 63, has given rise to a good deal of 
discussion. In the Fl. the spelling is 
" Pollax," and under this word we will 
consider it. See Pollax. 

pole. The passage in Ant. IV, 15, 65, The 
soldiers'' p)ole is falVn, is taken by 
Johnson to mean: "He at whom the 
soldiers pointed, as at a pageant, held 
high for observation." Upon which 
Bos well remarks: "The pole, I appre- 
hend, is the standard.'''' 

pole=clipt vineyard. " A vineyard in 
which the poles are clijJt (embraced) by 
the vines." Dyce. See clip. Schm. 
explains it as a vineyard "hedged in 
with poles," but it is doubtful if vine- 
yards were ever so protected. War- 
burton emended to pale-clipt, i.e., sur- 
rounded with a fence. This makes good 
sense, but the meaning given by Dyce 
is probably the correct one. Tp. IV, 
1, 68. 

Polixenes, dr.jJ. King of Bohemia. Wint. 

Pollax. This word is spelled Polacks in 
the g. a. text (Hml. 1, 1, 63) and is taken 
to mean natives of Poland. See Polack. 
Polacks has been adopted by the Cam- 
bridge eds. In the Fl. the word is 
Pollax, and not Pollax as stated in the 



POL 



237 



POL 



"Cambridge Shakespeare," in which 
the variorum readings are all printed in 
italics. It is pollax in the First, Second, 
Third and Fourth Quartos; Pollax in 
the Fifth and Sixth Quartos and the 
Second Folio ; Polax in the Third Folio 
and Pole-axe in the Fourth Folio. 

The question which has arisen is : 
Does the expression "sledded Pollax" 
of the Fl. mean Polanders (Polacks) 
seated in sleighs or sledges, or does it 
mean a battle-axe or pole-axe with a 
long handle and a heavy sledge or ham- 
mer attached to the head, or, rather, 
forming a part of it ? 

Rowe adopted the spelling ' ' Pole-axe ' ' 
from the Fourth Folio ; Pope, who 
printed from Rowe, changed this to 
"Polack," appending the following 
note : ' ' He speaks of the Prince of 
Poland whom ho slew in battle. He 
uses the word Polack again. Act 2, Sc. 
4." Malone added an s so as to make 
the pronunciation of the word corre- 
spond to that of the word in the early 
editions, and the whole credit of the 
so-called emendation has generally been 
given to him, though it is evident that 
to Pope belongs the credit, if credit it 
can be called, of the first suggestion. 

Furness says that ' ' the German com- 
mentators have found more diflSculty 
in this phrase than the English," and 
devotes nearly two pages to a discussion 
of the subject, but he advances no 
arguments of his own on either side and 
makes no decision in the matter. But 
from the fact that, notwithstanding his 
well-known prepossession in favor of 
the Fl., he adopts "Polacks" into his 
text, it is to be assumed that he favors 
the " Polander " gloss. 

Most of the corns, who have adopted 
the "Polacks" reading pour unmiti- 
gated ridicule upon those who claim 
that the phrase means a pole-axe or 
battle-axe. R. G. White, in his review 
of Schm. " Lexicon," who, by the way, 
adopts the pole-axe explanation, says : 
"There could not be better evidence of 
Dr. Schmidt's superfluity as a Shake- 



spearean lexicographer than this amaz- 
ing, and I must be pardoned for saying 
ridiculous, explanation. The absurdity 
of it is felt by every English-minded 
reader more easily than it is explained. 
It is so laughably inconsistent with the 
tone of this scene, awful with the wraith 
of the majesty of buried Denmark, to 
picture the royal Dane smiting the ice 
with his pole-axe, like a testy old heavy 
father in a comedy." "Studies in 
Shakespeare," p. 304. 

Rolfe, after adopting " Polacks" into 
his text, explains "sledded Polacks" 
as "Polanders on sleds or sledges," 
and after a short discussion of the 
question adds : ' ' Furness gives nearly 
two pages of comical German com- 
ments on the passage, with some 
English ones equally amusing," and 
he illustrates the line with an en- 
graving taken from Verplanck's edition, 
in which the elder Hamlet is represented 
on horseback smiting the "Polack," 
who is sitting in a sledge and defending 
himself with his sword against the Dane, 
who is represented as armed with a 
sledded battle-axe, i.e., a. battle-axe with 
a sledge or hammer on the head or part 
opposite the edge ! 1 This is certainly 
a rich joke. How Dr. Rolfe could have 
used this cut to illustrate a "parle," 
however "angry," passes my compre- 
hension. 

In "The Henry Irving Shakespeare " 
the editor (the lamented Marshall, who 
lived to edit only to Act I, Sc. 8, in this 
play) adopts the emendation " Polacks " 
into his text, and in his notes he offers 
corroborative evidence from Caldecott 
tending to show that Polack means a 
Polander. But of this there is no doubt. 
The testimony would be to the point if 
the word Polack had appeared in any 
of the old editions in this passage, but 
it does not, and it may be stigmatised 
as a modern corruption. Further on 
he says : " It is very unlikely that the 
elder Hamlet, who is represented as a 
man of great dignity and self-restraint, 
should have struck at a number of the 



POL 



228 



POU 



enemy at a parley, however angry.'''' 
Mr. Marshall's "chief diflSculty in 
accepting pole-axe lies in the word 
sledded,'''' the reading of the Folios, and 
he seems to think that weighted ivith 
lead appears to be the only way out. I 
think not. A battle-axe with lead 
attached to the head would be very 
liable to accident, and we have no evi- 
dence that weapons loaded or weighted 
in this way were ever employed by any 
except executioners, and they only 
struck two or three blows at a time. 
But all battle-axes or pole-axes seem to 
have been sledded or furnished with a 
sledge (a well-known Anglo-saxon name 
for a hammer, in use even at this 
day, as may be found by inquiring in 
any blacksmith's shop), so that they 
could strike a blow on a hard substance 
without injuring the sharp edge, and 
the pole-axe figured in Dr. Rolfe's cut 
shows the sledge part very distinctly. 

I think that the arguments on both 
sides may be fairly summed up as fol- 
lows — and first for those in favor of 
" pole-axe" : 

1. The spelling in all the old editions, 
with the very distinct spelling "Pole- 
axe " of the Fourth Folio, would seem 
to favor the " pole-axe " reading. That 
pollax was the usual spelling of pole-axe 
in those days may be shown b}^ numer- 
ous instances. Thus, in the address to 
the reader in "Euphues' Golden Leg- 
acie " we find : "I'll down into the hold 
and fetch out a rustle pollax." And in 
Stanyhurst's " Description of Ireland " 
he tells us that " the gallowglasse useth 
a kind of pollax for his weapon." And, 
which is still more to the point, in LLL. 
V, 2, .580, the word which, in the g. a. 
text, is spelled pole-axe (and correctly 
so, since that is what it means), is 
spelled Pollax in the Fl. On the other 
hand, Polack, where it undoubtedly 
means a Polander, is spelled Poleak, 
Polake, Polacke, Polack (Second, Third 
and Sixth Quartos), Polak and Pollock, 
but never Pollax. 

2. There is no intimation of a war 



between Poland and Denmark. It was 
' ' the ambitious Norway ' ' that Hamlet 
combated, and although Poland is men- 
tioned twice in the play, nothing is said 
about a war between the Danes and 
that country. 

3. Horatio speaks of a " parle," not a 
fight or a battle. Now, if there was a 
" parle " or conference, there must have 

, been a truce, and for Hamlet to have 
smitten a Polander in that "parle," 
however angry, would have been an 
act of treachery to which his nature, as 
it is portrayed to us, would have been 
entirely repugnant. 

4. Horatio s a 10 him frown ; therefore, 
he must have seen his face, which must 
have been exposed, an unlikely condition 
in the event of a battle or even a sudden 
onslaught. The first thing he would 
have done would have been to pull down 
his beaver. See beaver. 

5. The difficulty raised by the word 
sledded can only arise in the minds of 
those who are not familiar with the 
construction of the old battle-axe. A 
sled, sledge or hanmier seems to have 
formed an essential part of that wea^Don. 
See sledded. 

In favor of the interpretation " Po- 
lacks" (Polanders) I can find no argu- 
ment — nothing but the arbitrary cor- 
ruption of Pope, a reading which he 
evidently evolved out of his own im- 
agination, and which modern eds. sup- 
port only by ridicule of the other gloss. 
Consequently, I, for one, am compelled 
to reject it without hesitation. 

To the unknown editor of the Fourth 
Folio is due the true reading, in modern 
form, "pole-axe." 

I have, perhaps, devoted more space 
to this word than its real importance 
would justify. The fact that almost all 
the coms. favor the side opposite to 
that which I have taken is my only 
excuse. 
polled, I 1. Shorn ; bald-headed. Kins. 
poul'd. ) V, 1, 85. 
2. Bare; stripped; plundered. Cor. IV, 
5, 215. 



POL 



229 



POS 



Polonius, dr.p. Lord Chamberlain. Hml. 

Polydore, dr. p. Name assumed by Guide- 
rius. Cym. 

pomander. This term was applied both 
to a ball composed of perfumes and to 
the case used for carrying them about 
the person. It would be difficult to say 
which is meant in Wint. IV, 4, 609. Po- 
manders were carried either in the 
pocket or suspended from the neck or 
girdle and were sometimes looked upon 
as amulets, sometimes as an efficient 
means of preventing infection. An old 
recipe for making them directs a mix- 
ture of carefully prepared garden soil, 
labdanum, benzoin, storax, ambergris, 
civet and musk. These, when well in- 
corporated, are warranted "to make 
you smell as sweet as my lady's dog, if 
your breath be not too valiant. " 

Pomegarnet. A blunder for Pomegran- 
ate ; the name of a room in a tavern. 
IHIV. II, 4, 42. See tavern. 

pomewater. A kind of apple. LLL. IV, 
2, 4. The name has been applied to a 
particular variety of apple, but it seems 
to have been also used for apples in 
general. Thus, in The Puritan we 
read of the "pomewater of his eye," 
meaning the apple of his eye. 

Pompeius Sextus, dr.p. A friend to 
Antony. Ant. 

Pompey, dr.p. Servant to Mrs. Over- 
done. Meas. 

poop. To strike fatally. Per. IV, 2, 25. 

Poor=John. Hake ; a cheap kind of fish, 
salted and dried. Tp. II, 2, 28 ; Rom. 

I, 1, 37. Sometimes written poor 
John. 

poperin. A variety of pear named after 
Poperingue^ a town in French Flanders, 
two leagues distant from Ypres. Rom. 

II, 1, 38. 

popinjay. A parrot ; hence a name for a 
fop or coxcomb. IHIV. I, 3, 50. 

Popilius Lena, dr.p. A Roman senator. 
Caes. 

popish. Bigoted. Tit. V, 1, 76. 

popular. Vulgar. HV. IV, 1, 38; Cor. 
II, 1, 233. 

popularity. Vulgarity. IHIV. Ill, 2, 69. 



poring dark. Darkness which makes one 
strain his eyes. HV. IV, Chor. 2. 

porpentine, n. 1. A porcupine. 2HVI. 
Ill, 1,363; Hml. 1,5, 20. 
2. The name of an inn. Err. Ill, 1, 116. 

porpentine, v. To prick or irritate as the 
porcupine does with its quills. It was 
an old superstition that the porcupine 
could dart its quills at an enemy. Troil. 

II, 1, 27. In Dekker's Satiro-Mastix, 
Tucca, one of the characters, says: 
" Thoul't shoot thy quills at me, when 
my terrible back's tui-n'd, for all this, 
wilt not. Porcupine ? " 

porringer. A shallow vessel used for 
holding liquids ; hence applied to a head- 
dress shaped like such a vessel. Shr. IV, 
3, 64; HVIII. V, 4, 50. 

port. 1. Deportment ; bearing. HV. 
Prol. 6 ; 2HVI. IV, 1, 19 ; Ant. IV, 
14, 52. 

2. Pomp; state; importance. Merch. I, 

I, 124, and III, 2, 283 ; Shr. I, 1, 208. 

3. A gate. All's. Ill, 5, 39 ; 2HIV. IV, 
5, 24 ; Cor. I, 7, 1. 

4. A natural or artificial harbor which 
vessels can enter and lie safe from injury 
by storms. Mcb. I, 3, 15. 

portable. Bearable. Mcb. IV, 3, 89 ; Lr. 

III, 6, 115. 

portage. 1. A port-hole; an opening. 
HV. Ill, 1, 10. 

2. Port-dues. Per. Ill, 1, 35. 
portance. Conduct; deportment. Cor. 

II, 3, 232 ; 0th. I, 3, 139. 

Portia, dr.p. A rich heiress. Merch. 
Portia, dr.p. Wife to Brutus. Caes. 
portly. 1 . Good - looking ; of a stately 

appearance. Merch. I, 1, 9 ; Troil. IV, 

5, 162. 
2. Well-behaved ; of good deportment. 

Rom. I, 5, 68. 
posie, ) A short motto, often inscribed 
posy. \ on rings and other tokens. Merch. 

V, 1, 151 ; Hml. Ill, 2, 164 ; Kins. IV, 

1, 90. See con. 
possess. To inform ; to give one the 

knowledge of what was intended or 

what had happened. Meas. IV, 1, 45 ; 

Ado. V, 1, 290 ; Merch. I, 3, 65, and IV, 

1, 35 ; Tw. II, 3, 149. 



FOS 



■230 



POW 



Posthumus Leonatus, dr.p. A gentle- 
man ; husband to Imogen. Cym. 

post, in. In haste. Rom. V, 3, 273. Some- 
times jpos^-/iasie (Hml. I, 1, 107) ; some- 
times pos^-posi-/ia6*^e (0th. I, 3, 46) and 
also haste-iDost-haste (0th. I, 2, 38). 

The expression Haste-Post-Haste — 
Ride for your life — your life — these, 
was a common inscription on letters 
and packages sent by express in Sh. 
time and much later. 

pot, to the. To sure destruction. Cor. I, 
4, 47. 

potato. The potato mentioned by Sh. in. 
Wiv, V, 5, 21, and Troil. V, 2, 56, is not 
the common or " Irish " potato, the 
solaiiiini tiibei-osiiin, as Dr. Schm. 
states it is. The common potato was 
carried to Europe from this country 
and was first cultivated on the estate of 
Sir Walter Raleigh, near Cork. The 
Irish farmers, to whom the plant was 
entirely new, supposed that the potato 
grew on the stems just as tomatoes are 
developed on the tomato plant, and 
when they saw no "fruit," except little, 
round apples, they concluded that the 
enterprise was a failure and that pota- 
toes would not grow in Ireland, so they 
ploughed them up to get rid of them, 
and then, to their great astonishment, 
they found the tubers in abundant 
quantity. This was later than 1588, 
and the first printed description of the 
potato appears in Gerard's "Herbal," 
published in 1597. Gerard gives this 
description: "The roote is thick, fat 
and tuberous ; not much differing either 
in shape, color or taste from the com- 
mon potatoes, saving that, the rootes 
hereof are not so great nor long ; some 
of them as round as a ball, some oual 
or egg-fashion, some longer and others 
shorter ; which knobbie rootes are fast- 
ened unto the stalks with an infinite 
numbei' of threddie strings. ' ' The ' ' com- 
mon potatoes" of which Gerard speaks 
are the tubers of convolvidus batatas, 
or sweet potato. W. G. Smith tells us 
in the " Encyclopaedia Britannica " that 
" the cultivation of the potato in England 



made but little progress, even though it 
was strongly urged by the Royal Society 
in 1663," so that it is very certain Irhat 
the "Irish" potato was not the one 
alluded to by Sh. And I have never 
read that any aphrodisiac properties 
were attributed to it. 

The sweet potato was imported into 
England in considerable quantities from 
southern Europe. Gerard tells us that 
he bought those he experimented with 
at the Exchange in London, and he 
gives an interesting account of the uses 
to which they were put, the manner in 
which they were prepared for "sweet- 
meats," and the invigorating properties 
claimed for them. They were too ex- 
pensive to be used as an article of com- 
mon food. 

potch. To thrust at ; to push violently. 
Cor. I, 10, 15. 

potent. A potentate. John II, 1, 358. 

pottle. A large tankard ; more specific- 
ally, a measure holding two quarts. 
Wiv. II, 1, 223 ; 0th. II, 3, 87. 

pottle=deep. To the bottom of the pottle 
or tankard. 0th. II, 3, 56. 

pottle=pot. A tankard containing two 
quarts. 2HIV. II, 2, 83. 

poulter. A dealer in poultry and game ; 
an old form of poulterer. IHIV. II, 4, 
480. Upon the phrase, " poulter's hare," 
Johnson remarks : " The jest is in com- 
paring himself to something thin and 
little. So a poulter'' s hare ; a hare 
hanging by the hind legs without a skin 
is long and slender." And especially 
thin when it has been eviscerated, as 
such hares always are. 

pouncet=box. A box with a perforated 
lid used for carrying perfumes. IHIV. 
1, 3, 38. Pouncet-boxes or pounce-boxes 
were also used until quite recent times 
for holding pounce or sand for sprinkl- 
ing over fresh writing on paper instead 
of using blotting-paper. 

pound. To shut up in a pin-fold. Gent. 
I, 1, 110 ; Cor. I, 4, 17. 

pourquoi, ) French for Why ? Tw. I, 

pourquoy. S 3, 95. 

powder. The expression, Like powder 



POW 



SSI 



PRE 



in a skilless s ol elder'' s flash, Is set afire 
by thine own ignorance (Rom. Ill, 3, 
132), may not be easily understood in 
these days of fixed ammunition. " The 
ancient English soldiers using match- 
locks * * * were obliged to carry a 
lighted match, hanging at their belts, 
very near to the wooden flask in which 
they kept their powder." Steevens. 
The powder and bullets were carried 
loose ; cartridges had not been invented. 

powder, v. 1. To salt. IHIV. V, 4, 112. 
2. An old-time cure for certain diseases ; 
see poivdering-tub. Meas. Ill, 2, 62; 
HV. II, 1, 79. 

powdering = tub. An apparatus for the 
cure of certain diseases. HV. II, 1, 79. 

Powle. St. Paul. RIII. I, 1, 138. 

Powle's. St. Paul's Church, the principal 
cathedral of London. IHIV. II, 4, 576 ; 
HVIII. V, 4, 16 ; 2HIV. I, 2, 58. See 
PauVs. 

pox. This word is frequently used as a 
mild form of oath, and some have con- 
sidered it rather coarse, especially in the 
mouth of a princess, as in LLL. V, 2, 
46. Farmer, in reply to Theobald, 
stated that only the small-pox is meant, 
and Rolfe seems to agree with him. 
Dyce, under the wordpoa?, says : " Need 
I observe that, in Shakespeare's time, 
this imprecation undoubtedly referred 
to the small-pox ?" Surely this is going 
too far. The subject is not one for ex- 
tended discussion in these pages, but 
that, in Sh. time, the word often had 
the same meaning that it now has, is 
easily seen by examining the numerous 
passages in which it occurs. The ex- 
planation of its use in the mouths of 
ladies and peojjle of the better class is 
simply that in those dajs the language 
was broader than it is now, and even re- 
fined people "called a spey'd a spey'd." 
Sh. puts expressions quite as indelicate 
as this in the mouths of refined women. 
The times tolerated it, and it is not best 
to disguise or deny this fact. We might, 
perhaps, be charitable enough to sup- 
pose that these ladies did not understand 
the meaning of the words they used. 



I have heard respectable girls use words 
which would have horrified them if 
they had known their true meaning. 

practic. Practical. While Sh. uses ^/i^o?-ic 
elsewhere, the only passage in which 
practic occurs is HV. I, 1, 51. Johnson 
explains the passage thus : ' ' His theory 
must have been taught by art and 
practice; which, he says, is strange, 
since he could see little of the true art 
or practice among his loose companions, 
nor ever retired to digest his practice 
into theory. ' ' 

practice. Treachery ; artifice ; trick ; 
wicked device. Meas. V, 1, 107; Ado. 
IV, 1, 190 ; Tw. V, 1, 360 ; HV. II, 2, 
90 ; Hml. IV, 7, 68. 

In Hml. IV, 7, 138, and in a pass of 
practice Requite him for your father, 
the word practice has been explained 
both as a treacherous thrust ( Clarendon) 
and as a favorite pass, one that Laertes 
was well practised in. In line 68 of this 
scene it undoubtedly means treachery ; 
but here it seems to have the meaning 
usually given to it at the present day. 

practisant. One who carries out or aids 
in a practice or artifice. IHVI. Ill, 
2, 20. 

practise, v. To plot. As. I, 1, 158. 

praemunire. A writ issued against one 
who has committed the off'ence of intro- 
ducing a foreign authority or power 
into England. HVIII. Ill, 2, 340. 

" The word is low Latin for prcemon- 
ere. The writ is so called from the 
first words of it, which forewarn the 
person respecting the often ce of intro- 
ducing foreign authority into England. " 
Rolfe. 

praise. To appraise; to estimate the value 
of. Tw. I, 5, 213 ; 0th. V, 1, 66. 

pranlc. To dress up ; to adorn. Tw. II, 
4, 89; Wint. IV, 4, 10 ; Cor. Ill, 1, 23. 

preachment. A sermon ; a discourse. 
3HVI. I, 4, 72. 

precedent. 1. A rough draft. John V, 
2, 3. 
2. A prognostic ; an indication. Ven. 26. 

precept. A summons issued by a court. 
2HIV. V, 1, 14 ; HV. Ill, 3, 26. 



PRE 



232 



PRE 



preceptial. Instructive. Ado. V, 1, 24. 

precious. Employed by Sh. with the 
usual meanings, such as of great value, 
As. II, 1, 14, and elsewhere. The ex- 
pression, precious villain (0th. V, 2, 
235), is explained by Schm. as an ironical 
use of the word, and in this he is fol- 
lowed by Rolfe, Fleming and some 
others, but irony seems rather out of 
place here. The word is frequently used 
in the sense of excessive, just as is dear 
in the passage dearest foe. See dear. 
In " Tom Brown's School Days at 
Rugby " we find, " It's hard enough to 
see one's way, a precious sight harder 
than I thought last night. " Boston ed. p. 
351. Precious villain means thorough, 
great villain, and precious varlet, in 
Cym. IV, 2, 83, simply means " you 
wretched varlet. ' ' Cloten had no brains 
to spare for irony and used the word in 
a thoroughly idiomatic sense. 

preciously. Valuably; i.e., in business 
of great importance, Tp. I, 2, 241. 

precisian. A puritan ; a precise person. 
This word is found in Wiv. II, 1, 5, in 
the Folies. In the g. a. text it has been 
changed t© physician. The reading, 
physician, was suggested by Theobald, 
and upon it Johnson has the following 
H®te: "Of this word [precisian] I do 
not see any meaning that is very ap- 
posite to the pref ent intention. Pei'haps 
Falstaff said, Though love use reason 
as his physician he admits him not for 
his counsellor. This will be plain sense. 
Ask not the reason of my love ; the 
Business of Reason is not to assist love, 
but to cure it." Dyce was the first to 
introduce physician into the text. 

precurrer. Forerunner. Phoen. 6. 

predominance. Superior power or in- 
fluence. Troil. II, 3, 138 ; Mcb. II, 4, 8. 
See sjiherical. 

predominate. To oversway. Wiv. II, 2, 
294 ; Tim. IV, 3, 142. 

prefer. 1 . To recommend ; to commend. 
Lr. I, 1, 277; Caes. V, 5, 6:J; Shr. I, 1, 
97. Reed tells us that '' to prefer seems 
to have been the established phrase for 
recommending a servant." Upon this. 



Craik (" English of Shakespeare," p. 344) 
remarks: "But to prefer was more 
than merely to recommend. It was, 
rather, to transfer or hand over." 
2. To present; to offer. In several 
passages Sh. gives to this word its 
radical meaning. Commenting on it as 
it occurs in Mids. IV, 2, 34, Theobald 
says : " This word is not to be under- 
stood in its most common acceptation 
here, as if their play was chosen in pre- 
ference to the others (for that appears 
not to be the fact), but means that it 
was given in among others for the 
Duke.'s option." See also Caes. Ill, 1, 28, 

pregnancy. Cleverness ; fertility of in- 
vention. 2HIV. I, 2, 192. 

pregnant. This word occurs fifteen times 
in the plays, and as its meaning has 
given rise to considerable discussion we 
give references to all the passages in 
which it is found. They are : Meas. I, 
1, 12, and II, 1, 23; Tw. II, 2, 29 ; do. 
Ill, 1, 100 and 101; Wint. V, 2, 34; 
Troil. IV, 4, 90 ; Ant. II, 1, 45 ; Lr. II, 

1, 78, and IV, 6, 227; Hral. II, 2, 212, 
and III, 2, 66; 0th. II, 1, 239 ; Cym. IV, 

2, 325 ; Per. IV, Prol. 44. In addition 
to these, pregnancy occurs once (2HIV. 
I, 2, 192); pregnantly once (Tim. I, 1, 
92), and unpregnant twice (Meas. IV, 
4, 23, and Hml. II, 2, 595). The student 
can easily refer to these passages and 
consider the word in relation to its con- 
text. 

The " Century Dictionary " classifies 
the various meanings of the word under 
nine heads, between some of which, 
however, it is a little diflBcult to see any 
great difference. Nares arranges the 
different meanings under four divisions 
which may be briefly described as : 1. 
Stored with information- 2. Ingenious, 
full of art or intelligence. 3. Appre- 
hensive, ready to understand, 4. Full 
of force or conviction ; and he adds : 
"The word was, however, used with 
great laxity, and sometimes abused, as 
fashionable terms are; but generally 
may be referred to the ruling sense 
of being full or productive of some- 



PRE 



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PRE 



thing." There can be no doubt about 
this being the sole meaning of the word 
at the present time, whether it is used 
with a strictly physiological meaning 
or metaphorically. Sh. never uses the 
word in its physiological or, as some 
have called it, its literal sense, though 
there are more than a score of passages 
in which the condition is stated in other 
words. 
Furness, in his comments on Lr. II, 

I, 78, devotes considerable space to the 
subject. He agrees with Nares and 
says that in all the passages in which 
the word occurs it has this meaning, 
' ' produ ctiv e of something. ' ' After giv- 
ing the views of Wright, Caldecott, 
Keightley and others on the passage 
found in Hm.l. Ill, 2, 66, 

And crook the pregnant hinges of the 

knee 
Where thrift may follow fawning, 
he« adds : "Pregnant because untold 
thrift is born from a cunning use of the 
knee." 

It is always unsafe to differ from Dr. 
Furness, because he is evidently in the 
habit of giving laborious and conscien- 
tious study to his subject, and always 
with a judicial mind. Nevertheless, I 
can scarcely agree with him in his views 
on this question, and will look forward 
with much interest to his forthcoming 
volume for an explanation of pregnant 
* * * ear, as found in Tw. Ill, 1, 100. 

After very careful consideration, I 
cannot avoid the thought that the word 
is found in Sh. bearing two entirely 
opposite meanings — one, that of being 
productive, and the other, that of being 
receptive of something. Thus, in Hml. 

II, 2, 212, in the expression. How preg- 
nant sometimes his reiMes are ! we 
evidently have the physiological word 
used metaphorically, the being pro- 
ductive^ i.e., bringing forth apt and 
wise thoughts. But in Tw. Ill, 1, 100, 
where Viola speaks of Olivia's ear as 
being pregnant, it is evident that the 
sense is that her ear is receptive ; that 
it takes hold of what is offered to it. 



And I am convinced that the cause of 
this seeming confusion lies in the fact 
that we have here, not one word with 
two or more meanings, but two entirely 
different words; dift'erent in their origins 
and different in their meanings, but, by 
mere accident, alike in spelling and 
pronunciation. 

The first word is derived from the 
Latin proegnare, to be about to bear. 
It takes the form " pregnant " and has 
the usual physiological meaning with 
metaphorical applications to other 
things, and, as Nares very properly says, 
it has the ruling sense of being full or 
productive of something. 

The second word, which has the same 
spelling and pronunciation, is from the 
French prendre.,^ prenant, and signi- 
fies to grasp ; to take hold ; to appre- 
hend. The word piregnahle (a slightly 
different form) is from ' the same root. 
And it is this word which is found in 
Tw. Ill, 1, 100, and Lr. IV, 6, 227, while 
it is the first word that is found in Hml. 
II, 2, 212. t 

As in other cases of this kind, the 
meanings of these two words tended to 
shade off into each other and to become 
confounded until it often became difficult 
to determine just which word was the 
one used, and finally one became obso- 
lete and extinct, as has happened also 
in the case of the two lets and others. 
Keeping these points in mind, I think 
the reader will have no difficulty in 
reaching the correct meaning of any 
passage in which the word pregnant 
occurs. 

As used in the passage. Crook the 
pregyiant hinges of the knee Where 
thrift may follow fawning, Johnson 

* Prendre is defined in French dictionaries 
as, to take, to apprehend, to assume, to 
contract, to imbibe, to undertake. It 
has a wide range of meaning. 

t This etymology of the word is an old one; 
it was adopted by the "Imperial Dic- 
tionary," but was not accepted by the 
" Century," which was based on the 
"Imperial." 



PEE 



234 



PRE 



long ago defined pregnant as "ready." 
It is the fawning that is productive ; 
the readiness of the hinges to crook 
themselves may contribute to the fawn- 
ing, and the more so in that they 
are prompt and ready ; but surely the 
hinges themselves cannot be said to be 
" full and productive. " 
In the passage in Meas. II, 1, 23 : 

'Tis very pregnant 
The jewel that we find we stoop and 

tak't 
Because we see it, 

pregnant certainly means obvious, evi- 
dent, or, as Johnson has it, plain ; and 
the idea conveyed is that the thought 
takes hold of us. We might, with per- 
fect conformity to the sense, substitute 
taking for pregnant, and this meaning 
was given to it long before the German 
coms. were born. 

Again, the passage in Wint. V, 2, 34 : 
Most tr-iie, if ever truth were preg7iant 
by circumstance, is explained by Dr. 
Furness as, "if ever truth were stored 
full by circumstance." But surely this 
gloss does not convey the meaning that 
Sh. wished to express, which is, that 
the truth is proved by circumstance, or, 
in other words, that by circumstance 
we are enabled to take hold of it. In 
his comments on Lr. II, 1, 78, Dr. Fur- 
ness says that in Wint. V, 2, 34, preg- 
nant is ' ' used in so metaphorical a sense 
that one may give to it almost any 
meaning that his mother wit suggests 
as applicable to the passage." But I 
think this dictum will not hold true if we 
only get rid of the idea of productive- 
ness and accept that of receptivity. 

Such, in a very condensed form, are 
the conclusions to which a very careful 
study of the subject has led nie ; but 
before the reader adopts my views, 
which are in a large measure those of 
the older coms. , he should by all means 
examine the comments of Dr. Furness 
on Lr. II, 1, 78; Hml. Ill, 2, 56, and 
Wint. V, 2, 34. 
pregnantly. Clearly; forcibly. Tim. I, 
1,92. 



premised. Pre-sent; sent before their 
time. Dyce. 2HVI. V, 2, 41. 

prenominate. 1. To forename ; to fore- 
tell. Troil. IV, 5, 250. 
2. Aforesaid ; just named. Hml. II, 1, 43. 

prenzie. Symons, in " The Henry Irving 
Shakespeare," tells us that " few words 
in Shakespeare have given rise to so 
much controversy as this word prenzie.''^ 
It occurs twice : Meas. Ill, 1, 95, and 98. 
In the F3. the reading is princely. 
Hanmer emended to pr-iestly, and this 
has been accepted by many, amongst 
others, by Professor Rolfe, who says 
that prenzie is " pretty clearly a mis- 
print tor priestly or some other word," 
his chief reason being that it is not 
English. "Saintly," "pensive" and 
many other words have been suggested. 
It seems to me very clear, however, 
that "priestly" cannot have been the 
word ; Angelo was not a priest and 
there is no indication that he ever pre- 
tended to be one. That he was a prince 
we know, and therefore the pinncely of 
the F2. might be accepted. But the 
suggestion that prenzie is merely a 
modified form of the Scottish or old 
EnglishpriHisie (prim, demure) removes 
the need of emendation, as well as Pro- 
fessor Rolfe's objection that it is not 
English. Sh. employs a great many 
Scottish words, and words still retained 
in modern English, but which he uses 
in the Scottish sense. See silly. 

pre=ordinance. Old established law. Caes. 
Ill, 1, 38. 

presence. Presence-chamber; room of 
state. RII. 1, 3, 289 ; HVIII. Ill, 1, 17; 
Rom. V, 3, 86. 

present. In hand ; thus, present money 
= ready money. Err. IV, 1 , 34. 

presenter. An exhibiter ; an actor. Shr. 
I, 1 (stage direction). 

press. 1. An impress; a commission to 
foi-ce persons into military service. 
IHIV. IV, 2, 13. 
2. A printing press. Wiv. II, 1, 80. 
There is an evident pun here upon 
printing press and a press for squeezing. 

pressed. Impressed. Cor. I, 2, 9. This 



PEE 



235 



PHI 



word has been defined bj^ some as ready 
Iseeprest), but the best authorities give 
the definition we have adopted. Wright 
says: "Nothing to do with prest, 
' ready, ' which could not be used as an 
active participle. " 

prest. Ready. Merch. 1, 1, 160 ; Per. IV, 
Prol. 45. It is the old French word 
23rest, now j)ref, ready. 

Prester John. A fabulous eastern mon- 
arch. Ado. II, 1, 278. 

His title of Prester John originated, 
according to that veracious traveler. Sir 
John Mandeville, in the following cir- 
cumstance : The said king having gone 
with a Christian knight into a church 
in Egypt, was so pleased with the ser- 
vice that he determined no longer to be 
called king or emperor, but priest, 
"and that he wolde have the name 
of the first priest that wente out of 
the chirche : and his name was John." 
Dyce. 

pretence. Intention ; purpose ; design. 
Gent. Ill, 1, 47 ; Wint. Ill, 3, 18 ; Mcb. 
II, 3, 137. 

pretend. 1. To intend. Gent. II, 6, 37 ; 
Mcb. II, 4, 24. 
2. To portend. IHVI. IV, 1, 16. 

pretended. Predetermined ; intended. 
Kins. I, 1, 210, The word is here used 
with its etymological meaning. 

pretenders. Aspirants ; not in a bad 
sense. Skeat. Kins. V, 1, 158. 

pretty. Bold ; strong. Merch. Ill, 4, 64. 
In former times a pretty man did not 
mean a good-looking man, but a strong, 
courageous man. Pretty vaulting = 
strong vaulting. 2HVI. Ill, 2, 94. 

prevent. To come before ; to forestall ; 
to be beforeha,nd with ; to anticipate. 
Merch. I, 1, 61; Tw. Ill, 1, 94; IHVI. 
IV, 1, 71 ; Hml. II, 2, 305. 

In these passages the word is used in 
its etymological or radical jneaning, 
which was the usual sense in Sh. time. 
Thus, in Psalm CXIX, 147, we find, " I 
prevented the dawning of the morning, ' ' 
i.e., I anticipated the dawning ; not that 
the Psalmist obstructed the dawning of 
the morning. 



Priam, dr. p. King of Troy. Troil. 

Priam was King of Troy during the 
Trojan war. He was a son of Laomedon 
and Strymo, and his original name is 
said to have been Podarces, or "the 
swift-footed," which was changed to 
Priamus, "the ransomed," because his 
sister Hesione ransomed him after he 
had fallen into the hands of Hercules. 
His first wife is said to have been Arisbe, 
daughter of Merops, but afterwards he 
gave her up to Hyrtacus and married 
Hecuba, by whom he had nineteen sons. 
Hence the allusion in Hml. II, 2, 531. 
By other women he is said to have been 
the father of many fnore, the Homeric 
tradition crediting him with the father- 
hood of fifty sons, to whom others add 
an equal number of daughters. At the 
commencement of the Trojan war Priam 
was already advanced in years and took 
no part in the fighting. Once only did 
he venture upon the field of battle, to 
conclude the agreement respecting the 
single combat between Pai'is and Mene- 
laus. After the death of Hector, Priam, 
accompanied by Mercury, went to the 
tent of Achilles to ransom his son's body 
for burial and obtained it. When the 
Greeks entered Troy, the aged king put 
on his armor and was on the point of 
rushing against the enemy, but was 
prevailed on by Hecuba to take refuge 
wibh herself and her daughters as a 
suppliant at the altar of Jupiter. While 
he was tarrying in the temple, his son, 
Polites, pursued by Pyrrhus, rushed 
into the sacred spot and expired at the 
feet of his father; whereupon, Piiam, 
overcome with indignation, hurled his 
spear with feeble hand against Pyrrhus, 
but was forthwith killed by the latter. 
Hml. II, 2, 490, et seq. There are 
numerous references to Priam outside 
of Troilus and Cressida. For the 
allusion in 2HIV. I, 1, 72, Sh. probably 
had recourse to his imagination. The 
account given by Virgil is very different. 
In the reference to Helen in All's. I, 3, 
77, there is probably a mistake — Prian? 
for Paris. 



PRI 



236 



PRI 



prick, n. 1. A dot or spot. This is the 
original sense of the word. Sharp points, 
punctures, etc., came after. Skeat. 
LLL. IV, 1, 134. Used for the points 
marking time on the dial. Noon-tide 
prick (3HVI. I, 4, 34) and prick of noon 
(Rom. II, 4, 119) = the mark on the 
dial which denotes noon. 

2. A thorn (see nightiyigale) ; the sharp 
quills of a hedgehog. Tp. II, 2, 12. 

3. A wooden skewer. Lr. II, 3, 16. 

4. The act of pricking or piercing ; the 
usual action of the needle. HV. II, 1, 36. 

5. A hurt caused by a sharp point. 
HVIII. II, 4, 171. 

6. The word, as it occurs in Troil. I, 3, 
348, is defined by Schm. as "a small 
roll;" Johnson defined small pricks as 
small points compared with the volumes. 
Rolfe, the ed. of "The Henry Irving 
Shakespeare " and most English coms. 
adopt Johnson's interpretation. It is 
true that prick is a nautical term for a 
small roll of tobacco or spun yarn, but 
that it was ever used for a small volume 
may be doubted. 

7. In LLL. IV, 1, 140, the expression 
she is too hard for you at %)^^^^^^i 
means that she excels you in shooting 
at a mark ; shooting ' ' at pricks ' ' being 
a technical term in archery, opposed to 
shooting "at rovers." Schm. entirely 
mistakes the naeaning of the phrase in 
this passage, and explains pricks as "a 
hurt made by a prickle, a sting, a 
stitch." 

prick, V. 1. To mark by a dot or other 
check-mark ; to mark down. LLL. V, 
2, 548; 2HIV. Ill, 2, 121; Cees. Ill, 
1, 216. 

In LLL. V, 2, .548, the reading is pick 
out in the Globe, the Cambridge and 
many other eds. It is pricke in the 
Folios and Q2; picke in Ql. In many 
eds., amongst others " The Henry Irving 
Shakespeare," the reading of the Fl. is 
retained. Marshall, the editor, says 
" The expression prick out is much 
more characteristic." Precisely the 
same expression is found in Cses. Ill, 
1, 216. 



2. To stick in. Shr. Ill, 2, 70. 

In this sense the word is still in use in 
horticulture ; the gardener speaks of 
"pricking out" young plants, that is, 
setting them out with a dibble. 

3. To erect ; to point. Tp. IV, 1, 176. 

4. To hurt ; to wound. This is un- 
doubtedly the meaning in 2HIV. Ill, 2, 
122, I was 2oricked well enough before. 
Schm. explains it as "dressed up; 
trimmed ;" but it is doubtful if Sh. ever 
used the word in that sense. As it 
occurs in line 164, same Act and scene, 
if he had been a 7nan\s tailor, heHd 
ha'' pricked you, Schm. again defines 
the word prick as "to dress up, to 
trim," and fails to see the slur here 
thrown at Justice Shallow, of whomSh. 
old enemy. Sir Thomas Lucy, was the 
prototype. Lucy bore as his coat of arms 
three luces or pike, or, as Parson Evans 
calls them (Wiv. 1, 1, 16), louses. Now, 
the cant name for a man's tailor was 
prick-louse, a word which will be found 
in Burns and is used by Sir R. L'Estrange 
(see the "Imperial Dictionary," s.v. 
prick-louse). Therefore, if Feeble had 
been a man's tailor, he would have 
pricked the luces (louses) which repre- 
sented Lucy or Shallow. See " Shake- 
spearean Notes and New Readings," 
p. 16. 

prick-eared. Having pointed ears. HV. 
II, 1, 44. 

This epithet was commonly applied 
by the English cavaliers to the Puritans 
because, their hair being cut close all 
around, their ears stood out prominently. 

pricket. A buck in his second year. LLL. 
IV, 2, 12, etc. 

prick=song. Music sung from notes. Rom. 
II, 4, 21. 

pride. In HV. I, 2, 112 ; IHVI. Ill, 2, 40, 
and IV, 6, 15, pride, according to War- 
burton, means "haughty power." Col- 
lier thinks that in IHVI. Ill, 2, 40, the 
pride of France means La Pucelle, but 
a careful reading of the context shows 
that he is manifestly wrong. Dyce. 

priest. The passage in Wint. IV, 4, 471, 
Where no priest shovels in dust, is 



PRI 



237 



PHI 



explained by Grey as "meaning that 
he should be buried under the gallows, 
without burial service. In the Greek 
Church the putting earth upon the body 
was thought absolutely necessary, and 
the priest enjoined to do it in the form 
of a cross ; and in the Pojpish office, 
before the Reformation, the priest, or 
person oflBciating, was ordered to put 
earth upon the body of the deceased in 
the form of a cross, with other cere- 
monies." 

prig. A thief. Wint. IV, 3, 108. 

primal. First ; earliest. HmLIII, 3, 37; 
Ant. I, 4, 41. 

prime. The spring of the year. Lucr. 
332 ; Sonn. XCVII, 7. 

primer. More important. HVIII. I, 2, 67. 

primero. A game at cards, which was 
very fashionable in Sh. time, and which 
seems to have been, from the meagre 
accounts we have of it, "a very com- 
plicated amusement." Gifford. It 
seems to be now unknown. Wiv. IV, 
5, 104 ; HVIII. V, 1, 7. 

primrose=beds, faint. It has been ques- 
tioned whether the word faint refers to 
the color or to the odor in Mids. I, 1, 
215. The point has not been decided. 
Wright says : ''^ faint prinirose-beds, 
on which those rest who are faint and 
weary. This proleptic use of the ad- 
jective is common in Shakespeare." 

primy. Early or, perhaps, flourishing. 
Hml, I, 3, 7. 

Prince, The Black. The allusion to Ed- 
wai'd, the Black Prince, in HV. I, 2, 
105, refers to the battle of Cressy, where 
the king refused to send aid to his son 
because he did not wish to diminish the 
credit which would be due to him in 
the event of victory. 

prince of cats. Tybalt is a name with 
various modifications — Tibert, Tybert, 
Tyber, all from Thibault. In "The 
History e of Reynard the Foxe " (of 
which Caxton published two editions, 
1481 and 1490) the cat is named Sir 
Tibert, and Jonson speaks of cats as 
tiberts. The expression. More than 
'prince of cats^ applied to Tybalt by 



Mercutio in Rom. II, 4, 19, is sometimes 
said to be derived from Dekker's Satiro- 
Mastix or The Unti'ussing of the 
Humorous Poet, but this was not pub- 
lished until 1603 {Romeo and Jtdiet had 
been published five years before that) 
and, as Marshall has pointed out in 
"The Henry Irving Shakespeare," the 
term there is "prince of rattes." The 
mistake originated with SteeveiiS and 

, has been followed by almost all sub- 
sequent coms., including Furness, Rolfe, 
White, down to the latest edition by 
Dowden. The passage, as it is found 
in Vol. III. of "The Origin of the 
English Drama," by Hawkins, p. 189, 
reads : " And then you keep a revelling 
and arrainging, and a scratching of 
men's faces, as though you were Tyber, 
the long-tail'd prince of rats, do you ?" 
These words are addressed by Tucca to 
Horace, under which name Ben Jonson 
is ridiculed or " untrussed. " 

I cannot help thinking that this so- 
called mistake on the pai't of Steevens 
w^as intentional. We all know that he 
was a forger of the meanest kind ; that 
he introduced readings and glosses for 
the mere purpose of confusing his suc- 
cessors, and it is not at all unlikely that 
he was the author of some of the forged 
papers for which poor Collier was 
blamed. But in Have with you to 
Saffron Waldon (1596) we have the 
phrase "not Tibalt, prince of cats,'*'' 
showing that it was in common use. 

Prince Henry, dr. p. Son to King John 
and afterwards Henry III. John. 

Prince Humphrey of Gloucester, dr.p. 
Son to Henry IV. 2HIV. and 2HVI. 

Prince John of Lancaster, dr.p). Son to 
Henry IV. 2HIV. 

Prince of Aragon, dr.p. Suitor to Portia. 
Merch. 

Prince of Morocco, dr.p. Suitor to Portia. 
Merch. 

Prince of Wales, dr.p. Edward, son to 
Edward IV. RIII, 

Prince of Wales, dr.p. Henry, after- 
wards Henry V. IHIV. and 2HIV. 

Princess Katherine, dr.p. Daughter to 



PRI 



238 



PRO 



Charles VI, afterwards Queen of Eng- 
land. HV. 

Princess of France, dr.p. LLL. 

principality. 1. According to some, a 
person of the highest dignity, but in 
Gent. II, 4, 152, it evidently means 
something more. It was a common 
Elizabethan word to signify a high 
order among the angels, and that is 
evidently its meaning here. In Romans 
viii, 38, we find "nor angels, nor prin- 
cipalities." Milton ("Paradise Lost," 
Book VI) has : "Next upstood Nisrock 
of Principalities the prime." Scot, in 
his " Disco verie of Witchcraft," tells us 
that principalities were the seventh of 
the nine orders of angels. 
2. In Ant. Ill, 13, 19, the word evidently 
means the territory of a prince. 

principals. The corner beams of a house. 
Per. Ill, 2, 16. 

princox. A pert young coxcomb. Rom. 
I, 5, 88. 

print. The phrase in print (LLL. Ill, 

I, 173) means accurately. So in Gent. 

II, 1, 175, / speak w print = to the 
letter; with great precision. Dyce re- 
marks that this phrase was not obsolete 
even in the time of Locke, and quotes 
from "Some Thoughts Concerning 
Education": "Who is not designed to 
lie always in my young master's bed at 
home and to have his maid lay all 
things in print and tuck him in 
warm." 

When Mopsa declares that she loves 
" a ballad in print o' life, for then we 
are sure they are true," she gives ex- 
pression to a feeling that seems to be 
common at this day. Wint. IV, 4, 264. 
Priscian. In the Fl., the line LLL. V, 1, 
31, reads : " Bome boon for boon, 
prescian, a little scratched, 'twil serue. " 
In the Globe ed. the reading is : "Bon, 
bon, fort bon, Priscian I a little scratched, 
'twill serve." In the g. a. text, it is : 
" Bone? — bone for bene: Priscian a little 
scratched, 'twill serve." This emend- 
ation is by Theobald and has been ac- 
cepted by Warburton, Johnson, Dyce, 
Rolfe and others. It is probably the 



true reading. For a discussion of the 
passage see Rolfe's ed., p. 154. 

The phrase, " Priscian a little 
scratched " is a paraphrase of a common 
expression, " Diminuis Prisciani caput," 
which, as Theobald says, was applied to 
such as speak false Latin. 

Priscian was the most celebrated 
Latin grammarian, and lived about 500 
A. D., or somewhat before Justinian. 
Of his work " Institutiones Grammati- 
cae " over one thousand MS. copies were 
made and deposited in all the great 
libraries. It may fairly be said that 
from the beginning of the sixth century 
until recently, Priscian has reigned over 
Latin grammar with almost as generally 
recognised an authority as Justinian 
has over Roman law. For an excellent 
account of Priscian and his works see 
" Encyclopaedia Britannica, " Vol. XIX, 
p. 743. 

priser. A champion or challenger ; one 
who has taken prizes in athletic contests. 
As. II, 3, 8. 

prize, n. 1. Value; estimation. Cym. Ill, 
6, 76. 
2. Privilege. 3HVI. 1, 4, 59 ; do. II, 1, 20. 

prize, V. To value ; to estimate. Ado. 
Ill, 1, 90. 

probal. Satisfactory; reasonable ; another 
form oi probable. 0th. II, 8, 347. 

process. An account or detailed state- 
ment. Hml. I, 5, 38. Clark and Wright 
think that perhaps the word has here 
the sense of an official narrative, coming 
nearly to the meaning of the French 
proces verbal. 

Procrus. A corruption of Procris, the 
wife of Cephalus. Mids. V, 1, 200. See 
Cephahis. 

Proculeius, dr.p. Friend to Octavius 
Caesar. Ant. 

procurator. Substitute; proxy. 2HVI. 
I, 1, 3. 

procure. To cause ; to prevail with to 
some end ; to bring. Rom. Ill, 5, 58. 

prodigious. Portentous ; in the nature 
of a prodigy. Rom. I, 5, 143 ; Mids. V, 
1, 419. Not necessarily monstrous as 
some have it. 



PRO 



239 



PRO 



proditor. A traitor. IHVI. I, 3, 31. 

preface, inter j., means " Much good may 
it do you!" 2HIV. V, 3, 30. 

This expression, used in this sense, 
seems to have been common in Sh. time. 
It is so explained by Florio in his 
" Second Frutes. " 

profane. Irreverent ; outspoken ; gross. 
0th. I, 1, 11.5; II, 1, 165. 

profanely. Grossly. Hml. Ill, 2, 34. 

Progne. A mistake for Procne, the sister 
of Philomela, q.v. The reference in 
Tit. V, 2, 196, is to the killing of Itys 
and the serving of his flesh to his father, 
Tereus. 

prognostication. The passage, in the 
hottest day prognostication claims 
(Wint. IV, 4, 817) is explained by John- 
son as the hottest day foretold in the 
almanac. Malone tells us that " al- 
manacs were in Shakespeare's time 
published under this title: "An Al- 
manac and Prognostication made for 
the year of our Lord God 1.595." 

progress. A journey made by a sovereign 
through his dominions. Hml. IV, 3, 33. 

project. To define ; to shape. Ant. V, 
2, 121. 

prolixious. Tedious ; causing delay. Meas. 
II, 4, 163. 

prologue arm'd. " The prologue speakers 
customarily wore black cloaks. There 
are other instances in which they are 
directed to appear in armour. One of 
these is afforded by Ben Jonson's 
Poetaster, the first part of the prologue 
to which is spoken by Envy, who 
' descends slowly ' ; then, after ' the 
third sounding,' ' as she disappears, 
enter Prologue hastily in armour. ' Jon- 
son's Prologue was armed as if to defend 
the poet against his detractors ; Shake- 
speare's only to suit the martial action 
of the play which he introduced. " Grant 
White. Troil. I, Prol. 23. 

Prometheus. A famous Titan whose 
name signifies "forethought." He 
was the son of the Titan lapetus and 
Clymene. On one occasion Jupiter 
wanted to destroy the whole of man- 
kind, whose place he proposed to fill 



with an entirely new race of beings, 
but Prometheus prevented the execution 
of the scheme and saved mankind from 
destruction. He is said to have stolen 
fire from heaven and to have brought 
it down to earth, where he instructed 
men in its use. He also taught them 
architecture, mathematics, astronomy, 
writing, navigation, medicine, the art 
of working metals and other useful 
knowledge, but as he did all this against 
the will of Jupifcef, the latter ordered 
Vulcan to chain him to a rock in Scy thia. 
As he still remained rebellious, Jupiter 
hurled both the rock and Prometheus 
down to Tartarus. After a long time, 
Prometheus returned to the upper world, 
but only to endure a fresh course of 
suffering, for he was now fastened to 
Mount Caucasus and his liver devoured 
by an eagle during the day, while at 
night it was rene wed, so that he under- 
went perpetual torment. Tit. II, 1, 17. 
There is also a legend according to which 
Prometheus created men out of earth 
and water, at the very beginning of the 
human race, or after the flood of Deu- 
calion, and that he stole from heaven 
the fire which endowed them with life. 
It is to this legend that reference is 
made in LLL. IV, 3, 304, and 0th. V, 
2, 12. 

prompture. Instigation; suggestion. Meas. 
II, 4, 178. 

prone. 1. Eagerly ; ready. Gym. V, 4, 208. 
2. Peculiar passage in Meas. I, 2, 188, 
explained by some as "speaking fer- 
vently and eagerly without words." 
According to Malone, "prompt, sig- 
nificant, expressive." Cotgrave defines 
prone sls "readie * * * easily mouing," 
and it is in this sense, no doulbt, that Sh. 
uses it. 

proof. 1. Temper; impenetrability. Arm- 
our of proof = armour hardened till it 
will abide a certain trial. Johnson. 
RII. I, 3, 73 ; RIII. V, 3, 219 ; Mcb. I, 
2, 54. 
2. Strength of manhood. Ado. IV, 1, 46. 

propagation. This word occurs but once 
in Sh. (Meas. I, 2, 154) and has given 



PRO 



240 



PRO 



work to the corns., who have offered 
several emendations. In the Fl. it is 
propogation ; in the other Folios pro- 
pagation ; Malone suggested proroga- 
tion ; Jackson, procuration, and Grant 
White, preservation. Marshall explains 
ifc as improvement or increase, and this 
is the sense which the verb (propagate) 
has in All's. II, 1, 200 ; Rom. I, 1, 193, 
and Tim. 1, 1, 67. Claudio and Julietta 
were anxious to keep their marriage 
secret so that Julietta's dower might 
not be lost, it being still in the possession 
of her friends. Other suggestions have 
been offered, but in the face of this very 
forcible explanation emendations are 
unnecessary. 

propagate. 1. In Per. I, 2, 73, this word 
has the usual meaning and is used in 
the usual sense — to beget. 
2, To improve ; to increase ; to augment ; 
to advance. All's. II, 1, 200 ; Rom. I, 
1, 193 ; Tim. I, 1, 67. 

propend. To incline. Troll. II, 2, 190. 

propension. Inclination. Troil. II, 2, 133. 

proper. 1. One's own; what specially 
belongs to an individual. Tp. Ill, 3, 
60 ; Tw. V, 1, 327. Proper deformity 
seems not in the fiend so horrid as in 
woman (Lr. IV, 2, 60) is thus explained 
by Warburton : " Diabolic qualities ap- 
pear not so horrid in the dev il, to whom 
they belong, as in woman who unnatur- 
ally assumes them." 

In this sense it is evidently an adoption 
of the French projire. 

2. Appropriate; suitable; peculiar. Meas. 
I, 1, 31 ; 2HI V. I, 3, 32 ; Hml. II, 1, 114 ; 
Lr. IV, 2, 60. 

3. Honest ; respectable (used of women). 
All's. IV, 3, 240 ; 2HIV. II, 2, 169. 

4. Handsome ; fine looking. Tp. II, 2, 
63 ; As. Ill, 5, 51 ; RIII. I, 2, 2.55; 0th. 
IV, 3, 35. Schm. confines the use of 
the word in this sense to men, but in 
As. Ill, 5, 51, proper is applied to a 
woman, and evidently in regard to her 
physical qualities. 

proper=faIse. Handsome and deceitful. 
Tw. II, 2, 30. 
Johnson strangely misunderstood this 



passage and reversed its meaning. He 
says : " The meaning is, hoiu easy is 
disguise to women; how easily does 
their own falsehood, contained in their 
waxen changeable hearts, enable them 
to assume deceitful appearance." The 
meaning of the passage is evidently just 
the reverse of this. It is : How easy is 
it for handsome and deceitful persons 
to impress their forms on the hearts of 
women. 

property, n. 1. Ownership. Lr. I, 1, 
116; Phoen. 37. 
2. Scenes, dresses, etc., used in a theatre. 
Wiv. IV, 4, 78 ; Mids. 1, 2, 108. Wright, 
Clarendon ed., defines properties as "a 
theatrical terna for all the adjuncts of a 
play except the scenery and the dresses 
of the actors." This is probably tech- 
nically correct, as it is understood by 
theatre managers. 

property, i;. 1. To endow with properties 
or qualities. Ant. V, 2, 83. 
2. To take possession of; to make pro- 
perty of. Tw. IV, 2, 99 ; John V, 2, 79 ; 
Tim. I. 1, 57. 

Prophetess, Cassandra, the, dr.2?. Troil. 
See Cassandra. 

propose, n. Conversation. Ado. Ill, 1, 12. 

propose, V. 1. To place before; to pro- 
mise as a reward. RIII. I, 2, 170 ; Caes. 
I, 2, 110; Hml. Ill, 2, 204. 

2. To call before the mind's eye ; to 
imagine. 2HIV. V, 2, 92 ; Troil. II, 2, 
146. Hence = to meet ; to encounter. 
Tit. II, 1, 80. 

3. To speak. Ado. Ill, 1,3; 0th. 1, 1, 25. 
propinquity. Nearness ; kindred. Lr. I, 

1, 116. 

propriety. Individuality ; consciousness 
of self . Tw. V, 1, 1.50. Hence = proper 
state or condition. 0th. II, 3, 176. 

propugnation. Means of opposition or 
defence. Troil. II, 2, 136. 

prorogue. To draw out ; to lengthen ; to 
extend. Ant. II, 1, 26 ; Per. V, 1, 26. 

Proserpina. The daughter of Jupiter 
and Ceres. The Greek form of the name 
is Persephone. Jupiter, without the 
knowledge of Ceres, promised Proser- 
pina to Pluto or Dis (Wint. IV, 4, 118), 



5R0 



241 



PUB 



and as her mother objected to her going 
down to Hades, Jupiter advised Pluto 
to carry her off. He accordingly seized 
her while she was gathering flowers 
with Diana and Minerva and bore her 
away to his realms below the earth. 
Ceres was absent when this happened, 
but as soon as she missed her daughter 
she sought for her all over the earth 
with torches, until at last she discovered 
the place of her abode. She also, in 
her wrath, smote with sterility the fields 
over which she passed, thus causing a 
fearful famine upon the earth, nor 
would she let the crops grow again until 
Proserpina was restored to her. Jupiter, 
pitying the sufferings of men, consented 
that Ceres should have her child again, 
provided the latter had eaten nothing 
during her sojourn in Hades. But Pluto 
had given her the kernel of a pomegran- 
ate to eat, whereby she became doomed 
to the lower world. It was, therefore, 
agreed that she should spend part of 
the year with her mother and part with 
Pluto. 

Even with the ancients, the story of 
Proserpina was supposed to be sym- 
bolical of vegetation, which during a 
portion of the year is hid under the ' 
earth, and when spring comes shoots 
forth and reappears in all its glory. In 
the mysteries of Eleusis the return of 
Cora (I.e., maiden or daughter) from 
the lower world was regarded as the 
symbol of immortality, and hence she 
was frequently represented on sar- 
cophagi. In the mystical theories of 
the Orphics she is described as tlie alJ- 
pervading goddess of nature who both 
produces and destroys everything. 

In works of art Proserpina is seen 
very frequently ; she bears the grave 
and severe character of an internal 
Juno, or she appears as a mystical 
divmity with a sceptre and a little box, 
but sbe was mostly represented in the 
act of being carried off by Pluto. She 
is referred to in Tp. IV, 1, 89. 
Prospero, dr.p. The rightful Duke of 
Milan. Tp. See Sycorax. 



Proteus, dr.p. A gentleman of Verona. 
Gent. 

Proteus. The Proteus referred to in 
3HVI. Ill, 2, 193, was the herdsman of 
Neptune and attended to the flocks of 
that god, which, however, were not 
sheep, but seals. He was also called 
"the prophetic old man of the sea," 
because he had the gift of foretelling 
the future, and was also endowed with 
the power of assuming various shapes. 
His habit was to rise from the flood at 
midday and sleep in the shadow of the 
rocks of the coast while the monsters of 
the deep lay around him. Any one 
wishing to compel him to foretell the 
future was obliged to catch hold of him 
at that time ; he would then call into 
play his power of assuming every pos- 
sible shape and thus try to escape. But 
whenever he saw that his endeavors 
were of no avail, he resumed his usual 
appearance and told the truth. When 
he had finished his prophecy he returned 
into the sea. In art he is sometimes 
represented as riding through the sea 
in a chariot drawn by Hippocampae. 

proud=pied. Goi-geously variegated. Sonn. 
XCVIII, 2. 

provand. Food ; provender. Cor. II, 1, 
267. 

provincial. Belonging to or under the 
jurisdiction of a province. Nor here 
provincial (Meas. V, 1, 318) = nor sub- 
ject to the ecclesiastical authorities of 
this province. Dyce. See Roses. 

provision. Foresight ; provident care. 
Tp. I, 2, 28 ; Lr. I, 1, 176. 

prune. 1. To dress up ; to adorn. LLL. 
IV, 3, 183. 

2. To preen ; to dress or trim the feathers 
as birds do. Cym. V, 4, 118. 

Publius, dr.p. A Roman senator. Caes. 

Publius, dr.p. Son to Marcus Andronicus. 
Tit. 

Publius. Who is your sister''s son, 
Mark Antony. Cses. IV, 1, 6. This is 
a mistake of the poet, as Upton has 
shown ; the person meant, Lucius Caesar, 
was uncle by the mother's side to Mark 
Antony. 



PUC 



242 



PTJG 



Pucelle, Joan La, cZr .p. IHVI. LaPucelle 
is French for the maid. Pucelle df Or- 
leans = the maid of Orleans. See Joan 
la, Pucelle. 

Puck, d7\p. A fairy. Mids. 

The name of Sh. "merry wanderer of 
the night " is a modification of pouke — 
an old name for the devil, and Keightley 
tells us that "it is first in Sh. that we 
find Puck confounded with the House- 
spirit and having those traits of char- 
acter which are now regarded as his 
very essence." Of the origin of pouke 
or Puck much has been written. In 
Icelandic, Puki is an evil spirit, and this 
name easily became Puck, Pug and Bug ; 
and finally, in Friesland the Kobold 
or evil spirit is called Puk. The pranks 
to which this being is addicted are well 
described in A Midsummer NighVs 
Dream.. To what is there said we may 
add what Reginald Scot tells of him in 
regard to his doing the work of those to 
whom he took a liking : " Indeed, your 
grandam's maids were wont to set a 
bowl of milk before him (Incubus) and 
his cousin Robin Goodfellow for grind- 
ing of malt or mustard and sweeping 
the house at midnight ; and you have 
also heard that he would chafe exceed- 
ingly if the maid or good wife of the 
house, having compassion on his naked- 
ness, laid any clothes for him beside his 
mess of white bread and milk, which 
was his standing fee; for in that case 
he saith : 
' What have we here ? Hempten, 

hamten. 
Here will I never more tread nor 

stampen.' " 
About the year 1584 there was pub- 
lished in London, by an unknown author, 
a little work called " The Mad Pranks 
and Merry Jests of Robin Goodfellow," 
and it is thought that from this book 
Sh. derived some of his ideas of Puck. 
In it we are told that Robin was the 
offspring of " a proper young wench by 
a hee-f ayrie, ' ' a king or something of that 
kind among them. By the time he was 
six years old he was so mischievous and 



unlucky that his mother undertook to 
give him a whipping and he ran away. 
After various adventures, he lay down 
to sleep by the wayside, and in his sleep 
he had a vision of fairies. When he 
awoke, he found lying beside him a 
scroll, evidently left by his father, 
which, in verses written in letters of 
gold, informed him that he should have 
any thing he wished for, and have also 
the power of turning himself "to horse, 
to hog, to dog, to ape," etc., but he was 
to harm none but knaves and queans, 
and was to " love those that honest be, 
and help them in necessitie. " 

Amongst many other adventures, he 
came to a farmer's house and took a 
liking to a "good handsome maid " that 
was there. In the night he did her 
work for her, breaking hemp and flax, 
bolting meal, etc. Having watched one 
night and seen him at work, and ob- 
served that he was rather bare of clothes, 
she provided him with a waistcoat by 
the next night, but when he saw it he 
started and said : 

" Because thou lay est me hlmpen 

hampen 
I will neither bolt nor stampen. 
'Tis not your garments, new or old, 
That Robin loves ; I feel no cold. 
Had you left me milk or cream, 
You should have had a pleasing dream; 
Because you left no drop or crum, 
Robin never more will come." 

Those who are interested in this 
curious department of folk-lore will find 
much interesting matter in Keightley's 
" Fairy Mythology " and Dyer's " Folk- 
Lore of Shakespeare," from which we 
have condensed the above account. 

pudding. He''ll yield the crow a pudding 
(HV. II, 1, 91) = he will become food 
for crows — a rude way of intimating 
that he has not long to live. 

puddle. To make muddy ; to befoul ; 
metaphorically, to confuse. Err. V, 1, 
173; 0th. 111,4, 143. 

pudency. Modesty. Cym. II, 5, 11. 

pugging. Of this word, as it occurs in 
Wint. IV, 3, 7, Johnson says: "It is 



PUI 



243 



PTJR 



certain that ' pugging ' is not now under- 
stood. But D7\ Thirlhy observes that 
this is the cant of gipsies." It is not 
found in the slang glossaries with any 
meaning applicable to this passage, the 
cant meaning of i^ug being inferior. It 
is generally defined as thievish, and it 
is supposed to be used in the same way 
that we speak of a person's having "a 
sweet tooth " when he is fond of sweets. 
Another interpretation of the passage 
is this : Autolycus, thinking of the 
white sheets which he sees on the hedges, 
has his appetite for ale sharpened when 
he thinks how he might steal the sheet 
and at the ale-house exchange it for a 
quart of ale. And Furness thinks that 
the connection between sheets and ale 
in this passage is confirmed by the 
following quotation from The Three 
Ladies of London (Hazlitt's ed. of 
"Dodsley,"p. 347): 

Our fingers are lime-twigs, and barbers 

we be. 
To catch sheets from hedges, most 

pleasant to see ; 
Then to the ale-wife roundly we set 

them to sale. 
And spend the money merrily upon 

her good ale. 

But all this does not explain "pug- 
ging." Collier thinks it is a misprint 
for prigging, and in this he is perhaps 
right. For various other suggestions 
see Furness's ed. of The Winte7^''s Tale, 
p. 164. 

puisny. Unskilful. As. Ill, 4, 44. 

puissance. 1. Strength. HV. Ill, Chor. 
21 ; 2HVI. IV, 2, 173. 
2. Armed forces. John III, 1, 339 ; 2HIV. 
1,3,9; RIII. V, 3, 299. 

puke=stocking. Puke = dark - colored ; 
perhaps puce. IHIV. II, 4, 79. 

pump. A light shoe. Rom. II, 4, 64. 
See roses. 

pun. To beat ; to pound. Troil. II, 1, 42. 
This word still survives in the dialects 
of some of the counties of England. 

punished. For the fate of the surviving 
characters, as referred to in Rom. V, 3, 
308, see nurse. 



punto. A stroke or thrust ; a term in 
fencing. Wiv. II, 3, 26. 

punto reverse. A back-handed stroke in 
fencing. Rom. II, 4, 28. According to 
Sa viola "you may give him [your 
adversary] a punta either dritta or 
ri versa. " 

purctiase, n. 1. A cant term for stolen 
goods. IHIV. II, 1, 101 ; RIII. Ill, 7, 187. 
2. Profit; gain; advantage. Per., Prol. 9. 
The expression found in Tw. IV, 1, 24, 
after fourteen years purchase, evi- 
dently means at a high rate or price. 
"Fourteen (or any other number of) years 
purchase " is a technical term, much used 
in England in the purchase or sale of 
land, but almost unknown in the United 
States. It means a present sum equal 
to the entire rent for fourteen years. It 
seems that the current rate in Sh. time 
was about twelve years purchase, so 
that fourteen years would be a rather 
high rate. 

purctiase, v. 1. To acquire; to obtain. 

As. Ill, 2, 360 ; in Cor. II, 1, 155, true 

purchasing = desert earned by exertion. 

2. Obtained by unfair means. 2HIV. IV, 

5, 200. Dyce. 

Puritan. An adherent of the sect which 
intended to restore the Church to the 
pure form of apostolic times ; generally 
disliked and ridiculed by the young 
bloods of the time. All's. I, 3, 56 ; Tw. 
II, 3, 152 ; Wint. IV, 3, 46. See horn- 
pipe. 

purl. -To curl ; to run in circles. Lucr. 
1407. 

purlieus. The grounds on the borders of 
a forest. As. IV, 3, 77. 

purples, long. " This is the early purple 
orchis (orchis niascida), which blossoms 
in April and May ; it grows in meadows 
and pastures, and is about ten inches 
high ; the flowers are purple, numerous 
and in long spikes. The poet refers 
to another name by which this flower 
was called by liberal shepherds, and 
says that 
Cold maids did [do] dead men'' s fingers 
call them. 
From this I consider that the cold maids 



PUR 



244 PYG 



mistook one of the other orchids, having 
pahnated roots, for long purples. The 
orchis inascula has two bulbs, and is 
in many parts of England called by a 
name that liberal shepherds used, and 
which is found in the herbals of Shake- 
speare's time. The spotted palmate 
orchis {orchis maculata) and the marsh 
orchis [orchis lati folia) have palmated 
roots and are called ' dead men's fingers, ' 
which they somewhat resemble." Beis- 
ley's "Shakspere's Garden." The vari- 
ous names given to this plant in the 
herbals are too gross for repetition ; 
Malone tells us that one of the grosser 
names which Gertrude had a particular 
reason to avoid was the rampant widoiv. 
Hml. IV, 7, 170. 

purple=in=grain. A color obtained from 
the kertnes or coccus, an insect which 
feeds on oak and various other plants. 
It was very durable and was so manip- 
ulated as to give a great number of 
different shades. For a discussion of 
grain in the sense of a dye, the reader 
will do well to consult Marsh's "Lec- 
tures on the English Language ' ' (revised 
ed.), pp. 56-65. Also Furness's New 
Variorum ed. of A Midsummer NighVs 
Dreayn, p. 41. See also grain in ap- 
pendix to this book. 

pursy. Fat and shortwinded. Hml. Ill, 
4, 153. Cotgrave gives : " Poulsif : 
' Pursie, shortwinded.'''' 

push. 1. An emergency ; a special occa- 
sion. Wint. V, 3, 129; Mcb. V, 3, 20. 
Schm., following Delius, defines push 
in the first quotation as: "an impulse 
given; a setting in motion." But, as 
Furness says, the explanation given 
above, which is that of the Clarkes, 
" seems to be the best." 
2. An expression of contempt; an old form 
of "pish! " Ado. V, 1, 38. Boswell and 
some others think that push here means 
defiance, resistance ; but Collier's ex- 
planation, which we adopt, seems to be 
preferred by the best English coms. 

push=pin. A childish game. LLL. IV, 
3, 169. 

put over. To refer. John I, 1, 62. 



putter=on. 1. Inventor; author. flVIIL 
I, 2, 24. 
2. Instigator. Wint. II, 1, 141. 

putter=out. Schm. defines this as "one 
who goes abroad," but this is certainly 
wrong. The phrase : Each putter out 
offiuefor one, as it stands in the Fl., 
Tp. Ill, 3, 48, alludes to a practice which 
was common in Sh. time, and which, as 
Furness says, "in effect reverses [the 
practice of] the modern Travellers'' 
Insurance Compianies.'''' It is fully ex- 
plained in Jonson's Every Man out of 
His Humour, II, 1, where Puntarvolo 
says : " I do intend, this year of jubilee 
coming on, to travel ; and because I will 
not altogether go upon expense, I am 
determined to put forth some five thou- 
sand pound, to be paid me five for one. 
upon the return of myself, my wife and 
my dog from the Turk's court in Con- 
stantinople. If all or either of us mis- 
carry in the journey, 'tis gone; if we 
be successful, why, there will be five 
and twenty thousand pound to entertain 
time withal." 

Objection has been made to the ex- 
pression of five for one, and some have 
claimed that it should be one for five. J 
Theobald emended to on five for one, i 
but the phrase seems to have been one in 
common use, and well understood to 
mean " at the rate of five for every one 
put out." For a full discussion see 
Furness's ed. p. 179. 

puttock. A kite. 2HVI. Ill, 2, 191; 
Cym. I, 1, 140. 

puzzel. A hussy ; a foul drab. IHVI. I, 
4, 107. The word is from the Italian 
puzzolente, and was in common use in 
Sh. time. Sometimes spelled pussle. 
The play on pucelle, a chaste maid, and 
puzzel, a foul drab, is obvious. 

Pygmalion. A famous king of Cyprus. I 
He was a skilful sculptor and is said to 
have fallen in love with the ivory image 
of a maiden which he himself had made. 
At the festival of Venus he prayed to 
the goddess that the statue might be 
endowed with life. His prayer was 
granted, and Pygmalion married the 



PYG 



245 



PYR 



animated image which he so loved, and 
she became bj^ him the mother of Paphus. 
The name given to the image-maiden is 
Galatea in the modern vei'sions of the 
legend, but it is apocryphal. Meas. 
Ill, 2, 48. 

The editor of the " Century Cyclo- 
paedia of Names" confounds the Pyg- 
malion of the image legend vs^ith an 
entirely different character, Pygmalion , 
the brother of Dido and the murderer 
of Acerbas or Sichseus, the husband of 
the latter. See Dido. 
Pygmies. A race of dwarfs who were 
so called because their height was that 
of a pygme, a Greek measure equal to 
the distance between the elbow and the 
hand. According to Homer they had 
every year to sustain a war against the 
cranes on the banks of Oceanus, which 
was supposed by the ancients to be a 
huge river encompassing the earth. 
Various stories are told of them, such 
as that they cut down each stalk of 
wheat with an axe. When Hercules 
came into their country they climbed 
with ladders to the edge of his goblet 
to drink from it, and when they attacked 
the hero, three whole armies combined 
in the assault. Ovid relates that CEnoe, 
the mother of the pygmies, was changed 
by Juno into a crane because she entered 
into a contest with the goddess, and in 
this form she was obliged to make war 
upon her own people. 

There was also a legend of northern 
pygmies who lived in the neighborhood 
of Thule; they are described as very 
short Mved, small and armed with spears 
like needles. Another account tells of 
a race of Indian pygmies who lived under 
the earth on the east of the river Ganges. 
Aristotle did not believe that the 
accounts of the pygmies were altogether 
fabulous, but that they were a tribe in 
Egypt who had exceedingly small horses 
and dwelt in caves. And modern dis- 
covery has revealed the existence of 
Afi'ican races of dwarfish size, but 
nothing comparable to that of the old 
legends. Ado. II, 1, 278. 



It is quite probable that like many 
other myths, that of the pygmies was 
originally based on the accounts given 
by travelers of people who really existed, 
these accounts being afterwards dis- 
torted and magnified by the poets. 

pyramides. A pyramid. Ant. V, 2, 61. 

pyramis. A pyramid. IHVI. I, 6, 21. 

Pyramus, dr. p. A character in the inter- 
lude. Mids. 

The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is 
found in Ovid's Metamoi^phoses, and 
is not by any means a burlesque as 
originally told. The lovers lived in ad- 
joining houses in Babylon and often 
conversed secretly with each other 
through an opening in the wall, as their 
parents would not sanction their marri- 
age. The rendezvous at the tomb of 
Ninus (or Ninny as Bottom calls him), 
the lion and all the rest are pretty much 
as set down in the play. Ovid relates 
that Thisbe, with her last breath, com- 
manded the mulberry tree, under which 
she and her dead lover lay, to bear 
thenceforth black fruit instead of white, 
and that the gods so decreed. 

Pyrrhus. The Pj^rrhus mentioned in Hml. 
II, 2, 472, et seq. , was the son of Achilles, 
and was so called either because of his 
fair hair or because his father, when 
disguised as a girl, bore the name of 
Pyrrha. He was also called Neoptole- 
mus. He was brought up in Scyros in 
the palace of Lycomedes, and was 
brought thence by Ulysses to join the 
Greeks in the war against Troy, Helenus 
having prophesied that Neoptolemus 
and Philoctetes were necessary for the 
capture of Troy. He was one of those 
concealed in the wooden horse. When 
Troy was taken he killed Polites, a son of 
Priam, before the eyes of the latter, 
and when the old king upbraided him 
for this act, Pyrrhus brutally slew him 
also at the sacred hearth of Jupiter, and 
then sacrificed Polyxena to the spirit of 
his father. When the Trojan captives 
were distributed among the conquerors, 
Andromache, the widow of Hector, was 
given to Pyrrhus, and by her he became 



PYT 



246 



auA 



the father of Molossus, the ancestor of 
the Molossian kings. He was finally 
slain at Delphi, but the circumstances 
connected with his death ai'e variously 
related. 
Pythagorus. A celebrated philosopher, 
the events of whose life are shrouded in 
the mists of antiquity. The date of his 
birth is placed at about 582 B. c, and 
that of his death about 80 years later. 
He was born in Samos in Greece, and 
ultimately settled at Crotona, one of 
the Dorian colonies in the south of 
Italy. Here he founded the Pythagorean 
brotherhood. He is said to have been 
the discoverer of several valuable geo- 
metrical truths, the most important 
being that known as the Pythagorean 
proj^osition. It forms the famous forty- 
seventh proposition of the first book of 
Euclid, that the square on the hypoth- 
enuse of a right-angled triangle is equal 
to the sum of the squares erected on the 
sides. But the doctrine by which he is 
most generally known is that of the 
metempsychosis or transmigration of 



souls, an idea probably adopted from 
the Orphic mysteries. The bodily life 
of the soul, according to this doctrine,, 
is an imprisonment suffered for sins 
committed in a former state of exist- 
ence. At death the soul reaps what it 
has sown in the present life. The re- 
ward of the best is to enter the cosmos, 
or the higher and purer regions of the 
universe, while the direst crimes re- 
ceive their punishment in Tartarus. 
But the general lot is to live afresh in a 
series of human or animal forms, the 
nature of the bodily prison being deter- 
mined in each case by the deeds done in 
the life just ended. Xenophanes men- 
tions the story of his interceding on 
behalf of a dog that was being beaten, 
professing to recognise in its cries the 
voice of a departed friend. He himself 
is said to have pretended that he had 
been Euphorbus in the Trojan war, as 
well as various other characters — a 
tradesman, a courtezan, etc. Merch. 
IV, 1, 131 ; As. Ill, 2, 187 ; Tw. IV, 2, 
54. See rat and verse. 




^UAIL, n. 1. A bird somewhat 
resembling our American quail, 
or, as it is sometimes called, 
partridge (Bob White), but 
rather smaller. The ancients trained 
them to fight just as the moderns train 
gamecocks. Ant. II, 3, 37. See inhoojoed. 
2. Cant term for a loose woman. Troil. 
V, 1, 57. 
quail, V. 1. To quell; to crush. Mids. 
V, 1,293; Ant. V, 2, 85. 
2. To faint; to slacken; to be terrified. 
As. II, 2, 20 ; IHIV. IV, 1, 39 ; Cym. V, 
5, 149. 

In the lines : And let not search and 
inquisition quail To bring again these 
foolish runaivays (As. II, 2, 20), it has 
been suggested that quail is a misprint 
for fail, and certainly the latter word 



seems most appropriate. But Cotgrave 
makes quaile and faile synonymous. 
Douce cites from The Choise of Change 
the following line in support of the 
claim that quail means to slacken, re- 
lax, diminish: "Thus Hunger cureth 
love, for love quaileth when good 
cheare faileth." But quail here may 
mean to become afraid, its usual sig- 
nification. 
quaint. 1. Neat ; pretty ; dainty. Wiv. 
IV, 6, 41; Shr. IV, 3, 102; Mids. II, 2, 7. 
2. Ingenious ; clever ; artful. Tp. I, 2, 
316; Merch. Ill, 4, 69; Shr. Ill, 2, 149; 
2HVI. Ill, 2, 274. 

" The word is derived from the Latin 
cognitus, which in old French became 
coint, Cotgrave gives ' Coint * * * 
Quaint, compt, neat, fine, spruce, brisk, 



QUA 



247 



QUA 



smirke, smug, daintie, trim, tricked 
vp.' " Wright. 

quaintly. Prettily; daintily; pleasantly. 
Gent. II, 1, 128 ; III, 1, 117 ; Hml. II, 
1, 31. 

quake. To cause to tremble. Cor. I, 9, 
6. Steevens quotes from T. Heywood, 
Silver Age (1613): "We'll quake them 
at that bar where all souls wait for 
sentence." Whitelaxv. 

qualification. Appeasement; pacification. 
Whose qualification shall come into 
no true taste again (0th. II, 1, 282) = 
"whose resentment shall not be so 
qualified or tempered, as to be well 
tasted, as not to retain some bitterness. ' ' 
Johnson. 

qualify. To moderate ; to soften. Lucr. 
421 ; Meas. I, 1, 66 ; John V, 1, 13 ; Lr. 
I, 2, 176; 0th. II, 3, 41 (slily mixed 
with water). 

quality. 1. Profession ; calling. Gent. 
IV, 1, 58 ; Meas. II, 1, 59 ; Hml. II, 2, 363. 

2. Rank. Lr. V, 3, 120 ; V, 3, 111 ; HV. 
IV, 8, 95. 

3. Cause ; occasion. Troil. IV, 1, 44 ; 
Tim. Ill, 6, 117. 

Peculiar passage in IHIV. IV, 3, 36 ; 
probable meaning : are not of our kind, 
i.e., of our party. 

quantity. Besides the usual meanings, 

we have: 1. Proportion; corresponding 

degree. Mids. 1, 1, 232 ; Hml. Ill, 2, 177. 

2. Very small portion. Shr. IV, 3, 112 ; 

John V, 4, 23. 

' Falstaff says (2HIV. V, 1, 70) : If I 
were sawed into quantities [little 
pieces] / should tnake four dozen of 
such bearded hermits staves as Master 
Shallow. 

quarrel. Cause ; suit. 2HVI. Ill, 2, 233. 
The passage in HVIII. II, 3, 14, if 
that quarrel fortune do divorce it 
from the hearer, has occasioned much 
discussion. Warburton takes quarrel 
to mean arroiv. This makes good sense. 
Johnson reads "quarreler," and other 
emendations have been suggested. Quar- 
rel, in the sense of arrow, is used by 
Spenser, and in "Hakluyt's Voyages" 
we find : " A servaunt * * * was found 



shooting a quarrell of a crossbow with a 
letter." The "Century Dictionary" 
gives " quarrel = quarreler," but with- 
out any authority except this passage, 
which seems hardly sufficient. 

In Mcb. I, 2, 14, the sentence, And 
Fortune on his damned quarrel smil- 
ing has given rise to comments which 
fill a full page of the " New Variorum." 
Johnson explains quarrel here as cause, 
a meaning which it has in other passages. 
Others read "quarry." But the sense 
of the above and the following line 
seems to be that Fortune, while she ap- 
peared to smile on his accursed cause, 
deceived him (Macdonwald). 

In the Fl. the reading is Quarry; 
Johnson proposed quarrel, and Fur- 
ness adopts this reading. The word 
quarrel is used by Hollinshed in the 
very passage which Sh. here used : "For 
out of the Western Isles there came 
unto him a great multitude of people, 
offering themselves to assist him in 
that rebellious quarrel, and out of 
Ireland in hope of the spoil came no 
small number of Kernes and Gallow- 
glasses. ' ' 

Numerous attempts have been made 
to trace the origin of Touchstone's dis- 
sertation on quarrels in As. V, 4, 94 : O, 
Sir, we quarrel in print by the book, 
etc. It seems that the "bloods " of Sh. 
time studied the art of duelling as laid 
down in several books which had been 
published on the subject. Warburton, 
Malone and others give the titles of 
some of them, and some endeavor to 
point out the particular book which Sh. 
had in view, but it is more than probable 
that reference was made to no special 
treatise, but to the general fact that the 
science of quarreling and the art of 
self-defence were favorite studies with 
those whom Theobald calls "the boistei'- 
ous Gallants in Queen Elizabeth's 
reign." 
quarrelous. Disposed to quarrel; quarrel- 
some. Cym. Ill, 4, 162. 
quarry. As used by Sh. signifies a heap 
of slaughtered game. Cor. I, 1, 202 ; 



QUA 



248 



QUE 



Mcb. I, 2, 14 ; do. IV, 3, 206 ; Hml. V, 
2, 375. 

This word is derived from the French 
crtre'e, which Cotgrave defines as "a 
(dogs) reward ; the hounds fees of, or 
part in, the game they have killed." 
The word was also written cuyerie, and 
came into English in the form of querre 
or querry. {Defendre la curee, to keep 
the dogs from the game till it was 
properly prepared for them). From 
this it came to mean simply the slain 
animal. This is certainly better than 
the derivation from carree, the square 
enclosure into which the game was 
driven. Whitelaiv. 

quart d'ecu. A quarter of a French 
crown or fifteen pence. All's. IV, 3, 311 ; 
V, 2, 35. See cardecue. 

quarter, n. This word, as used in Err. 
II, 1, 108, and 0th. II, 3, 180, is explained 
by Schm. as peace ; friendship ; concord. 
Others think it means at the appointed 
station or post. To keep fair quarter 
ivith his bed can hardly mean to keep 
peace with his bed, but rather to keep 
the set appointment with his bed ; to be 
in his proper place. The plural, quarters 
= lodging or encampment. 

quarter, v. 1. To place the arms of an- 
other family in the compartments of a 
shield. Wiv. I, 1, 24. 
2. Lodged; stationed. RIII. V, 3, 34; 
Caes. IV, 2, 28. 

Behold their quartered fires (Cym. 
IV, 4, 18) = their camp fires; the fires 
burning in their quarters. 

quartered. Slaughtered. Cor. I, 1, 205. 

quat. A pimple. 0th. V, 1, 11. See sense. 

quatch=buttock. Squat or flat buttock. 
All's. II, 2, 19. 

queasy. 1. Squeamish ; nauseated. Ado. 
II, 1, 399 ; Ant. Ill, 6, 20. 
2. Ticklish ; nice. Lr. II, 1, 19. 

queasiness. Nausea; disgust. 2HIV. I, 
1, 196. 

Queen, dr.p. Wife to Cymbeline. Cym. 

Queen Elizabeth, dr.p. Wife to Edward 
IV. 3HVI. and RIII. 

Married Sir John Grey, and after- 
wards Edward IV. The tree in Whittle- 



bury Forest, near Grafton, under which 
Elizabeth waited, with her two young 
sons, to petition King Edward for the 
restitution of their father's lands, is 
still known as the Queen's oak. 

Queen Isabella, dr.p. Wife to Richard 
II. Rll. 

Queen Katharine (of Aragon), dr.p. Wife 
to Henry VIII. HVIII. 

Queen Margaret (of Anjou), dr.p. Wife 
to Henry VI. IHVI., 2HVI., 3HVI. 
and RIII. 

quell. Murder. Mcb. I, 7, 72. 

quench. To grow cool. Cym. I, 5, 47. 

quern. " A handmill for grinding corn 
[wheat] made of two corresponding 
stones. It is one of our oldest words 
and with slight variations is found in 
all northern languages." Brockett. 
Mids. II, 1, 36. 

Delius makes quern = churn, but this 
is unquestionably wrong. Johnson sees 
a difficulty in the fact that the Fairy 
mixes up good and bad acts by Puck, 
but we must remember that she is re- 
counting all his tricks, as he himself does 
in The Pranks of Puck, as reprinted in 
Percy's "Reliques." See Puck. 

quest. 1. A search. Per. Ill, Prol. 21. 

2. A body of searchers. 0th. I, 2, 46. 

3. Inquiry. Meas. IV, 1, 62. 

4. Inquest ; an impanelled jury. RIII. 
I, 4, 189; Hml. V, 1, 24. 

questant. A seeker ; aspirant. All's. II, 

1, 16. 

question, n. 1. Conversation. As. Ill, 
4, 37 ; Merch. IV, 1, 73. 
2. The subject of conversation or inquiry. 
A7}y constant question (Tw. IV, 2, 53) 
= settled, determinate, regular question. 
Johnson. The question of his death 
is enrolled in the Capitol. Cses. Ill, 2, 
40. " The word question is here used 
in a somewhat peculiar sense. It seems 
to mean the statement of the reasons." 
Cro.ik. 
Cry out on top of question (Hml. II, 

2, 356) = recite at the very highest 
pitch of their voices. 

Tts the way To call hers exquisite, 
in question more. Rom. I, 1, 235. The 



QUE 



249 



QUI 



usual explanation of this passage is ' ' to 
make her unparalleled beauty more the 
subject of thought and conversation." 
Malone. And he further adds that 
question here does not mean to doubt 
or dispute, but conversation. On the 
other hand we must remember that the 
passage is a reply by Romeo to Ben- 
volio's advice to compare Rosaline with 
others ; it seems to me, therefore, that 
a correct paraphrase of Romeo's speech 
would be : " The way to make her beauty 
appear superior to others is to call it 
more in question by comparing them." 

question, V. To converse ; to talk. Lucr. 
132. 

questionable. That may be questioned 
or talked with; inviting conversation. 
Hml. I, 4, 43. 

questrist. One who goes in quest or 
search of another. Lr. Ill, 7, 17. 

queubus. A nonsensical word probably 
used by the clown and quoted by Sir 
Andrew in Tw. II, 3, 25; bombastic 
language manufactured by Feste ; big 
words without any sense. 

quiclc. 1. Alive ; living. Wiv. Ill, 4, 90; 
Tim. IV, 3, 44 ; Hml. V, 1, 137. 

2. Lively; sprightly. LLL. I, 1, 162; 
RIII. I, 3, 5 ; Ant. V, 2, 216. 

3. In action, as running springs of water. 
Tp. Ill, 2, 75. 

4. Pregnant. LLL. V, 2, 682. 

5. The quick = the sensitive nerves. 
Hml. II, 2, 6S6. 

quiclcen. 1. To come to life. Lr. Ill, 
7, 39 ; 0th. Ill, 3, 277 ; Ant. IV, 15, 39. 
2. To bring to life. Tp. Ill, 1,6; All's. 
II, 1, 77. 

Quiclcly, Mrs., dr.jJ. Hostess of a tavern 
and afterwards wife to Pistol. IHIV., 
2HIV. and HV. 

Quickly, Mrs., dr. p. Maid of all work to 
Dr. Caius ; "in the manner of his nurse, 
or his dry nurse, or his cook, or his 
laundry, his washer, and his wringer." 
Wiv. I, 2, 3, et seq. 

quiddit, j Equivocation; subtlety; cavil. 

quiddity. \ IHIV. 1, 2, 51 ; Hml. V, 1, 107. 

quid for quo. Tit for tat. IHVi. V, 3, 
109. 



quietus. Final settlement of an account ; 
audit. Sonn. CXXVI, 12; Hml. Ill, 1, 75. 
From the law term, quietus est, used 
in the settlement of accounts. 

quill. Pipe; voice. Mids. Ill, 1, 131. 
The wren with little quill = the wren 
with small voice or note. In this passage 
Schm. makes it " the strong feather of 
the wing of a bird." But it certainly 
has not that meaning here. cf. Milton's 
"Lycidas," line 188: 
He touched the tender stops of various 

quills. 
In the quill = all together ; in a body. 
2H VI. 1, 3, 4. There has been considerable 
diversity of opinion in regard to the 
meaning of this phrase. In the coil or 
confusion ; in proper form, i.e., as ruffs, 
etc. , were quilled ; penned or written, 
just as we say, in print, etc., etc. But 
Ains worth, in his "Latin Dictionary" 
(1761), explains in the quill by "acting 
in concert" {ex compacto agunt), and 
in the Devonshire DaviseVs Frolic, 
where a bevy of girls are described as 
swimming close together, we find : 
Thus those females were all in a quill 
And following on their pastimes still. 

quillet. A sly trick in argument ; chi- 
canery. LLL. IV, 3, 288 ; IHVI. II, 4, 
17; Hml. V, 1, 108 ; Oth. Ill, 1, 25. 

Quince, dr.p. The carpenter. Mids. 

quintain. A post or figure set up for 
tyros in chivalry to practise at. At 
first it was a mere post ; then a figure 
dressed like a Saracen ; afterwards it 
was made more complicated and turned 
round on a pivot or axis. The object 
of this was that if the horseman did not 
direct his lance with sufficient dexterity 
to strike the figure fair in the center it 
would turn round and give the awkward 
filter a blow with the wooden sword 
which it held in its hand. This was 
considered a disgrace to the horseman 
and was a source of great merriment to 
the spectators. As. I, 2, 263. 

Quinapalus. An author of whom nothing 
IS known. The name was evidently 
manufactured for the occasion by Festew 
Tvv. I, 5, 31. 



QUI 



250 



RAC 



Quintus, dr. p. Son to Titus Andronicus. 
Tit. 

quip. A sharp jest ; a taunt. Gent. IV, 
2, 12 ; Ado. II, 3, 249 ; As. V, 4, 79. 

quire, n. 1. A company. Mids. II, 1, 
55 ; 2HVI. I, 3, 92. 
2. A place for singers. Cym. Ill, 3, 43. 

quire, v. To sing in concert. Merch. V, 
1, 63; Cor. Ill, 2, 113. 

quirk. 1 . A sudden turn ; an evasion. 
Per. IV, 6, 8. 

2. A shallow conceit. Ado. II, 3, 258 ; 
0th. II, 1, 63. 

quit. To repaj^ ; to requite ; to pay off. 
Meas. V, 1, 416; 3HVI. Ill, 3, 128 ; Hml. 
V, 2, 68 ; V, 2, 280. 

quital. Requital ; retaliation. Lucr. 236. 

quittance, n. 1. A discharge from obliga- 
tion or debt. Wiv. 1, 1, 10 ; As. Ill, 5, 133. 
2. Return ; acquital. HV. II, 2, 34; 
Tim. I, 1, 291. Rendering faint quit- 
tance (2HIV. I, 1, 108) = giving faint 
return of blows. All use of quittance 
(Tim. I, 1, 291) = all the customary re- 
turns made in discharge of obligations. 
Warburton. 

quittance, v. To requite ; to retaliate. 
IHVI. II, 1, 14. 



quiver, adj. Nimble ; active. 2HIV. Ill, 

2, 301. 
quoif. A cap or hood generally worn by 

women and sick people. Wint. IV, 4, 

226 ; 2HIV. I, 1, 147. 
quoit. To pitch as one does a quoit. 

2HIV. II, 4, 205. 
quondam. Former ; that used to be. HV. 

II, 1, 82. Quondam day (LLL. V, 

I, 7) = yesterday. The play occupies 
two days according to Daniel, and 
this speech was made on the second 
day. 

quote. 1. To note; to observe. Gent. 

II, 4, 18 (a pun upon quote and coat). 
Troil. IV, 5, 233 ; Hml. II, 1, 112; Rom. 

1, 4, 31. 

2. To construe; to interpret. LLL. V, 

2, 796. 

3. To note ; to set down as in a note- 
book. LLL. II, 1, 246 ; All's. V. 3, 205 ; 
John IV, 2, 222. 

quotidian. A fever whose paroxysms 
return every day. As. Ill, 2, 383. 

In HV. II, 1, 124, the Hostess speaks 
of a burning quotidian Tertian., thus 
mixing up big words so as to make 
nonsense. See Tertian. 




THE eighteenth letter. Rom. 

II, 4, 223. 
Even in the days of the 

Romans, R was called the 
dog's letter from its resemblance in 
sound to the snarling of a dog. Lucilius 
alludes to it in a fragment, and Ben Jon- 
son, in his "English Grammar," says 
that R "is the dog's letter, and hurreth 
in the sound ; the tongue striking the 
inner palate with a trembling about 
the teeth." 
rabato. A kind of ruff or band (French 
rabat). Ado. Ill, 4, 6. " Menage saith 
it comes from rabattre., to put back, 
because it was at first nothing but the 
collar of the shirt or shift turned back 
towards the shoulders." Hawkins, 



rabbit=sucker. A young rabbit. IHIV. 
II, 4, 480. 

Some editors make rabbit-sucker = a 
weasel, but in Lyly's "Endymion " we 
find: "I prefer an old coney before a 
rabbit-sucker. " Th e context shows that 
a young rabbit was meant. Weasels 
were not hung by the heels in con- 
nection with poulter's hares." See 
poulter. 

rabblement. The rabble. Cs8s. I, 2, 
245. 

race. A root. Wint. IV, 3, 50. cf. raze. 

rack, n. Floating vapor ; a cloud. Sonn. 
XXXIII, 6 ; Tp. IV, 1, 156 ; Hml. II, 
2, 506 ; Ant. IV, 14, 10. 

rack, V. 1. To move as clouds. SIIVI, 
II, 1, 27. 



BAD 



251 



RAN 



2. To extend; to stretch; to strain. Ado. 

IV, 1,223; Merch. I, 1,181. 

In LLL. V, 2, 828, the word racked, 
which is the reading of the old eds. , 
seems inexphcable. Rowe emended to 
rank, which seems the true meaning. 
cf. Hml. Ill, 3, 36 : O, ')ny offence is 
rank, it smells to heaven. 

raddock. See ruddock. 

rag. A terra of contempt applied to 
persons. Wiv. IV, 2, 194 ; Shr. IV, 3, 
112 ; RIII. V, 3, 328 ; Tim. IV, 3, 271. 

raged. Chafed. RII. II, 1, 70. 

raging=wood. Raving mad, IHVI. IV, 
7, 35. cf. ivood. 

rake, n. This well-known implement was 
the symbol of leanness, probably because 
in that condition the ribs showed regu- 
larly like the teeth of a rake. In Cor. 

I, 1, 21, there is probably a play on the 
words pikes and rakes, both being 
used in agriculture, one for gathering 
together, the other (pike or pitch-fork) 
for tossing into place. 

rake, v. 1. To search for as with a rake. 
HV. II, 4, 87 and 97. 

2. To cover up. Before the invention 
of lucifer matches, fires were " raked " 
every night, i. e. , covered with ashes or 
culm so that they would keep in all 
night. See Wiv. V, 5, 48: Where fires 
thou find''st unrak''d, etc. Lr. IV, 6, 
281 : here in the sands thee Fll rake tip. 

Rambures, dr. p. A French lord. HV. 

ramp. A wanton wench. Cym. I, 6, 134. 
The meaning given by Schm. is "a 
leap," a definition which utterly des- 
troys the sense of the passage. Cotgrave 
gives " Rampeau. Droict de ramp. A 
priuiledge, or power, to lecher. " Mid- 
dleton and Dekker use the word in the 
sense we have given : 
The bouncing ramp, that roaring girl, 
my mistress. 

— Roaring Girl, III, .3. 

rampallian. A term of lo^v abuse. 2HIV. 

II, 1, 67. Probably formed from the 
word ramp, q.v. 

rampant. Rearing ; standing on the hind 
legs as if preparing to spring. 2HVI. 

V, 1, 203. 



ramping. Rampant ; or it may have the 
sense in which Chaucer uses ravipen, 
' ' to rage, be furious with anger. ' ' IHI V. 
Ill, 1, 152. 

rank, n. The expression : The right 
butter-women'' s rank to market (As. Ill, 
2, 103) has puzzled the coms. , but here, 
as in many other passages, although the 
precise definition of some of the words 
may be subject to doubt, the general 
meaning of the passage is clear enough. 
Touchstone means to ridicule the sing- 
song cadences of Orlando's rhymes. 
Various emendations have been pro- 
posed for rank, such as rate, rant, 
racke, etc. Whiter says: "The right 
butter- women's 7"an/c to market' means 
the jog-trot rate (as it is vulgarly called) 
with which butter-women uniformly 
travel one after another in their road 
to market; in its application to Orlando's 
poetry it means a set or string of verses 
in the same coarse cadence and vulgar 
uniformity of rhythm." Here rank 
means row or file. 

rank, adj. 1. Swollen. Ven. 71. 

2. Lustful; rutting. Merch. I, 3, 81. 

3. Strong, in the sense of offiensive, noi- 
some, rancid. Sonn. LXIX, 12 ; Wiv. 
Ill, 5, 93 ; Hml. Ill, 3, 36 ; Tw. II, 5, 136. 

4. Luxuriant ; gross. HV. V, 2, 45 ; Hml. 
Ill, 4, 152 ; Lr. IV, 4, 3. 

The passage in As. IV, 1, 85, I should 
think my honesty ranker than my wit, 
has puzzled the coms. Schm> defines 
rau/cer here as "greater;" this seems 
to me the very opposite of what is 
meant. Collier's MS. Corrector changes 
to " I should thank my honesty rather 
than my wit," a reading which White 
says has found some favor, but which 
Dyce condemns. Furness, after quoting 
these three, leaves the matter where he 
finds it. 

It seems to me that the meaning is 
not far to seek. Rank here has the 
sense of strongly offensive ; rancid ; and 
Cotgrave has "Ranci: Mustie, fustie, 
reasie, restie, tainted, stale, putrified, 
wafted, stinking, unsauorie, ill-smell- 
ing." Rosalind evidently means that 



RAN 



252 



RATI 



she would think her honesty more 
tainted than her wit. 

The line 0th. II, 1, 315, which in the 
g. a. text, reads : Abuse him, to the 
Moor in the rank garb (the reading of 
the Quartos), is right garb in the Folios. 
Rank is defined by Malone as " lascivi- 
ous " ; Steevens, "grossly, i.e., without 
mincing the matter"; Rolfe, "in the 
coarsest fashion. " Furness thinks that 
the reading of the Folio is the true one : 
" lago's plans are not yet settled, all is 
' but yet confused, ' details will depend 
on circumstances as they arise ; the 
main point is to get Cassio on the hip 
and then abuse him to the Moor in the 
right garb, in the best fashion, what- 
ever that fashion maybe." For garb 
= fashion, see Lr. II, 2, 104, and Hml. 
II, 2, 390. 

ransom, v. 1. To redeem. Err. I, 1, 23; 
Cym. V, 5, 85. 
2. To release for ransom. LLL. I, 2, 64 ; 
Cor. I, 6, 36. 

rap. To transport with emotion. Cym. 
I, 6, 51 ; Cor. IV, 5, 122 ; Mcb. I, 3, 57 ; 
Tim. V, 1, 67. 

rapture. 1. A fit; a passion. Cor. II, 1, 235. 
2. A violent seizure. Per. II, 1, 161. 

rarely. Early. Sometimes spelt rearly. 
Kins. IV, 1, 110. 

rascal. A deer lean and out of season. 
As. Ill, 3, 58. 

" Certain animals, not accounted as 
beasts of chace, were so termed * * * 
the hart, until he was six years old, was 
accounted rascayle.''^ Way. After- 
wards applied to men. 

rascaUlike. Like lean and worthless deer. 
IHVI. IV, 2, 49. 

rash. To strike as does a boar with his 
fangs, Percy, in the glossary to the ' ' Re- 
liques of Ancient English Poetry," says : 
" Rashing seems to be the old hunting 
term to express the stroke made by the 
wild boar with his fangs." It occurs in 
some eds. of Sh. in Lr. Ill, 7, 58 {sticks 
In the Fl.) ; RIII. Ill, 2, 11. (Generally 
rased.) 

rat. A well-known animal with whifh 
many superstitions are connected. Thus, 



in Tp. I, 2, 147, Prospero says of the 
old hulk aboard which he was placed 
that the very rats instinctively had 
quit it. This is a universal superstition 
amongst sailors. So, too, with houses ; 
rats are said to forsake a house that is 
in danger of falling. These ideas may 
have arisen from the fact that rats are 
quite sensitive to any unusual motion 
indicating weakness in a structure. Rats 
are also known to migrate in large 
numbers from one barnyard to another, 
and even from one part of a country to 
another. The same is true of squirrels. 
That they have a motive for this, the 
reason of which we may not be able 
to see, is beyond question. The supply 
of food and drink are probably great 
incentives to such migrations. A story 
is told of a cunning Welsh captain who 
wanted to get rid of rats that infested 
his ship, then lying in the Mersey at 
Liverpool. Having found out that there 
was a vessel laden with cheese in the 
basin, and getting alongside of her 
about dusk, he left all his hatches open 
and waited till all the rats were in his 
neighbor's ship and then moved off. 
See tail and verses. 

Ratcliff, Sir Richard, dr.p. RIII. 

He was the " rat " of CoUingbourne's 
rhyme (see Catesby) and was such a 
cruel, bloodthirsty wretch that he was 
called "the jackall" of Richard. He 
shared his master's fate at the battle of 
Bos worth. 

rat=catcher. A cat; a pun on Tybalt's 
name. Rom. Ill, 1, 78. See Tybalt 
and Prwice of Cats. 

rate, n. Estimate. Tp. I, 2, 92 ; II, 1, 
109 ; Mids. Ill, 1, 157. 

In the latter passage it probably 
means rank or worth. 

rate, V. 1. To apportion. Ant. Ill, 6, 25. 
2. To equal in value. Ant. Ill, 11, 69. 

ratolorum. Slender's blunder for rotu- 
lorum. Wiv. I, 1, 8. 

raught. Reached; an old form of the 
past tense and participle of the verb to 
reach. LLL. IV, 2, 41 ; HV. IV, 6, 21 ; 
3HVL I, 4, 68 ; Ant. IV, 9, 30. 



RAV 



253 



RED 



ravel. To unravel. RII. IV, 1, 228; 

Hml. Ill, 4, 186. 
ravined. Gorged with prey. Mcb. IV, 

I , 24. Mason thought that it meant the 
opposite, starved, but the word seems 
to have been used by writers of that 
period in the sense that we have given. 

ravish'd. Snatched from. Kins. II, 2, 22. 
raw^ly. Without due preparation and 

provision. HV. IV, 1, 147. 
rawness. Unprepared and unprovided 

condition. Mcb. IV, 3, 26. 
rayed. 1. Defiled; dirtied. Shr. IV, 1,3. 
2. Afflicted; sick, Shr. Ill, 2, 54. 
raze, n. A root or, perhaps, a package. 

IHIV. II, 1, 27. 
razed. Slashed or streaked in patterns. 

Hml. Ill, 2, 293. 
reach. Par sightedness. We of wisdoin 

and of reach = we who are endowed 

with wisdom and reach. Hml. II, 1, 

64. cf. We of taste and feeling. LLL. 

IV, 2, 30. 
rear=niouse. See rere-mouse. 
rearward. The last troop; the rearguard. 

IHVI. Ill, 3, 33. Figuratively in Sonn. 

XC, 6; Rom. 111,2, 121. 
reason. 1. To converse; to talk. Merch. 

II, 8, 27 ; John IV, 3, 29 ; RIII. IV, 4, 
537. 

2. To argue ; to debate. HV. V, 2, 165; 
Lr. V, 1, 28. 

rebate. To blunt; to take off the edge. 
Meas. I, 4, 60. 

rebeck. A three-stringed fiddle. Used 
as a name in Rom. IV, 5, 135. 

recheat. " A recall or retreat ; from the 
old French recept or recet. A. hunting 
term for a certain set of notes sounded 
on the horn to call the dogs off. In 
Ado. I, 1, 243, the meaning is : "I will 
supply horns for such a purpose " 
(Nares), i.e., for sounding a recheat, 
alluding, of course, to the threadbare 
joke of the cuckold's horns. For a full 
discussion of recheat, see Furness's 
"New Variorum," Ado. p. 32. 

receipt. 1. The thing received; money. 
• RII. I, 1,126; Cor. I, 1, 116. 
2. Capacity; power of receiving. Sonn. 
CXXXVI, 7. 



3. Receptacle ; a place for receiving and 
containing anything. HVIII. II, 2, 139 ; 
Mcb. I, 7, 66. 

receive. 1. To accept (intellectually) ; to 
acknowledge ; to believe. Gent. V, 4, 
78; Meas. I, 3, 16; Tw. Ill, 4, 212; 
Mcb. I, 7, 74. 

2. To understand. Meas. II, 4, 82 ; re- 
ceiving = capacity or understanding. 
Tw. Ill, 1, 131. 

reck. To heed ; to care ; to mind. Ven. 
283; As. II, 4, 81 ; Hml. I, 3, 51 ; Cym. 
IV, 2, 154. 

record. 1. To witness. Tit. I, 1, 255; 
Tim. IV, 2, 4. 

2. To sing. Gent. V, 4, 6 ; Per. IV, 
Prol. 27. 

recordation. Remembrance. 2HIV. II, 
3, 61; Troil. V, 2, 116. In the latter 
instance, perhaps = recall to mind. 

recorder. A kind of flute or flageolet. 
Mids. V, 1, 123; Hml. Ill, 2, 303. 

recourse. Frequent flowing. Troil. V, 
3, 55. The word is evidently used here 
in its radical or etymological sense. 

recover the wind. To get the windward 
of the game so that it may not scent 
the hunter and thus prevent him from 
approaching it and driving it into the 
toil. Hml. Ill, 2, 368. 

recure. To restore to health ; to heal. 
Ven. 465 ; Sonn. XLV, 9 ; RIII. Ill, 7, 
130. cf. unrecuring. 

rede. Advice ; counsel. Hml. I, 3, 51. 
This word is still in use in Scotland. 
Compare the closing lines of Burns's 
" Epistle to a Young Fi'iend " : 
And may ye better reck the rede 
Than ever did th' adviser ! 

red=Iattice. It is said that a lattice 
window painted red was formerly a 
common distinction of an alehouse; 
hence, red-lattice phrases = alehouse 
talk. 2HIV. II, 2, 86. Other colors 
seem also to have been used, as appeal's 
from the following note by Gifford on 
the Green Xa^h'ce mentioned in Jonson's 
Every Man in His Humour : " In our 
author's time the windows of alehouses 
were furnished with lattices of various 
colors (glass, probably, was too oostlj 



RED 



354 



REG 



and too brittle for the kind of guests 
which frequented them). Thus we hear 
of the red, the blue and in this place of 
the G-reen Lattices. There is a lane in 
the city yet called Green-lettuce (lattice) 
Lane, from an alehouse which once stood 
in it ; and Serjeant Hall, in The Tatler, 
directs a letter to his brother at the Red 
Lettace (lattice) in Butcher Row." May 
not different alehouses have been dis- 
tinguished by different colors, and may 
not the "Red Lattice" have had the 
reputation of being low ? 

red plague. According to Steevens = 
the erysipelas ; Dr. Krautt believes it 
to be the leprosy. In the ' ' General 
Practise of Physicke " (1605), p. 675, 
three different kinds of the plague-sore 
are mentioned — 'sometimes it is red, 
other whiles yellow, and sometimes 
blacke, which is the very worst and 
most venimous.' " Halliwell. Tp. I, 2, 
364; Troil. II, 1, 20; Cor. IV, 1, 13. 

reduce. 1. To bring back; HV. V, 2, 
63 ; RIII. V, 5, 86. 

2. To bring ; to convey. RIII. II, 2, 68. 
tn all these instances the word bears 
the etymological meaning. 

reed, n. Any tall, broad-leaved grass 
growing on the margins of streams or 
other wet places. The common reed 
was extensively used for thatching 
buildings, and the dripping rain falling 
from the eaves furnishes a striking 
simile in Tp. V, 1, 17. 

Musical pipes were also made of the 
hollow stems of reeds ; hence, simile in 
Merch. Ill, 4, 67. See eaves and eaves- 
dropper. 

reed, adj. Piping. Merch. Ill, 4, 67. 
See reed, n. 

re=edify. To rebuild. RIII. Ill, 1, 71. 
This is the radical or etymological 
meaning of the word. 

reek, n. Smoke ; vapor. Wiv. Ill, 3, 86 ; 
Cor. Ill, 3, 121. The word reek (both 
as noun and verb) is still used in Scot- 
land. The city of Edinburgh is known 
as " A aid Reeky " from the great 
quantity of smoke produced by the com- 
bustion of bituminous coal. 



reek, v. To emit smoke or vapor ; to per- 
spire. Ven. 555; LLL. IV, 3, 140; 
HVIII. II, 4, 308 ; Lr. II, 4, 30. 

reeky. Smoky ; squalid ; stinking. Rom. 
IV, 1, 83 ; Ado. Ill, 3, 143. 

reeling ripe. See ripe. 

refel. To refute. Meas. V, 1, 94. 

refer, v. refl. 1 . To appeal. Wint. Ill, 2, 
116; 0th. 1,2,64. 

2. To have recourse to. Meas. Ill, 1, 255. 

3. To devote one's self to ; to give one's 
self up. Cym. I, 1, 6. 

Regan, cZr.p. Daughter to King Lear. Lr. 

regiment. G-overnment; sway. Ant. Ill, 
6, 95. 

region. 1. A tract of country ; a neigh- 
bourhood ; a locality. IHVL II, 1, 9 ; 
Cor. IV, 6, 103 ; Lr. I, 1, 147. 
2. Place; rank; station; dignity. Wiv. 
Ill, 2, 75 ; Cym. V, 4, 93. 

The word, as it occurs in Hml. II, 2, 
509, is thus explained by the " Clarendon 
Press " ed. : "Originally, a division of 
the sky marked out by the Roman 
augurs. In later times the atmosphere 
was divided into three regions — upper, 
middle and lower. " And this meaning 
has been generally given to the word in 
this passage, as also in line 509 of same 
act and scene, and in Rom. II, 2, 21. 
But the usual meaning, viz., a locality, 
a tract, seems to fit all these cases. The 
"region kites" may mean simply the 
kites of that neighborhood ; Hamlet cer- 
tainly does not mean all the kites that 
frequent the upper regions of the whole 
atmosphere. So, too, in Rom. II, 2, 21 ; 
the very expression "airy region" 
shows that region did not specially de- 
note the air in Sh. mind. 

Reignier (Renee), dr.p. Duke of Anjou. 
IHVI. 

regreet, n. Salutation ; greeting. Merch. 

II, 9, 89 ; John III, 1, 241. 

regreet, v. 1. To greet again; to re- 
salute. RII. I, 3, 142. 
2. To greet ; to salute. RII. I, 3, 67. 
reguerdon, n. Reward ; requital. IHVI. 

III, 1, 170. 

reguerdon, v. To reward. IHVI. Ill, 
4, 23. 



I 



REJ 



255 



REN 



rejourn. To adjourn. Cor. II, 1, 80. 

relative. Applicable ; pertinent ; conclu- 
sive. Hml. II, 2, 633. 

Synions truly observes that the best 
comment which has been made on these 
lines is to be found in Mr. Irving's 
acting. This is described by Marshall, 
in his " Study of Hamlet," as follows : 
" He takes his tablets out of his pocket 
before speaking the words — 

I'll have grounds 
More relative than this. 
The precise meaning of the word ' this ' 
and what it refers to, never seemed very 
clear ; but this action explains it. lir 
the first act, after the Ghost has left 
him, it will be remembered that Hamlet 
has written down in his tablets that 
Claudius was a villain. These same 
tablets he holds now in his hand; in 
them he is going to put down some ideas 
for the speech which he intends to in- 
troduce into the play to be performed 
before Claudius with the object of 
making 

his occulted guilt 
* * * itself unkennel. 

Can there be any more natural action 
than this, that he should touch those 
tablets with the other hand while he 
says: 

I'll have grounds 
More relative than this, 

i.e., 'than this record of my uncle's 
guilt which I made after the interview 
with my father's spirit.' " 

relume. To light again. 0th. V, 2, 13. 

remainders. In the passage Cym. 1, 1, 129, 
it is obvious that by good remainders 
Posthumus means those that are to abide 
at the court. Evans thinks that there is 
a touch of irony here, and points it out 
thus : " Posthumus prays for a blessing 
on the good people left at court when 
it was relieved of the burden of his un- 
worthiness." Surely this is a mistake. 
Imogen, his wife whom he worshipped, 
was there. Did he throw his ironical 
slurs at her ? There was no thought of 
irony or of his own unworthiness, as 
Schm. suggests, but an expression of 



feeling for the loved ones he was com- 
pelled to leave. 

remediate. Medicinal ; able to furnish a 
remedy. Lr. IV, 4, 17. 

remember. To remind. Sonn. CXX, 9 ; 
Wint. Ill, 3, 231 ; IHIV. V, 1, 32 ; Lr. 

1, 4, 72. cf. learn. 

remorse. Pity. Meas. II, 2, 54 ; Hml. 
II, 2, 513 ; Lr. IV, 2, 73. 

This word, as it occurs in 0th. Ill, 3, 
468, And to obey shall be in me remorse, 
is not easily explained, and it has been 
suggested that the passage is probably 
corrupt. In the same act and scene, 
line 369, the word remorse would seem 
to mean conscience rather than pity, 
and it may have the same meaning here. 

remorseful. Tender-hearted ; compassion- 
ate. Gent. IV, 3, 13 ; 2HVI. IV, 1, 1 ; 
RIII. I, 2, 156. 

remotion. Removal ; keeping aloof ; non- 
appearance. Tim. IV, 3, 346 ; Lr. II, 
4, 115. 

remove, n. A post stage. All's. V, 3, 131. 

removed. 1. Remote ; sequestered. Meas. 

1, 3, 8 ; As. Ill, 2, 360 ; Hml. I, 4, 61. 

2. The passage in As. V, 4, 71, a lie seven 
times removed, is explained by Schm. 
as "seven steps in the scale of grada- 
tion." Perhaps, however, the word is 
here used in its radical sense and means 
simply, repeated — re-moved, each time 
becoming more offensive than the pre- 
ceding. For a full discussion of the 
whole passage, see the "New Variorum " 
of Furness. 

As it occurs in IHIV. IV, 1, 35 : On 
any soul rem,oved but on his own, 
Johnson explains as : " On any less 
near to himself ; on any whose interest 
is remote. ' ' 

render. Statement ; account. Cym. IV, 
4,11. 

renege. To renounce ; to deny. Lr. II, 

2, 84 ; Ant. I, 1, 8. Still in use in this 
country as a term in card-playing. 

renown. Goodness; praiseworthy quality. 

Cym. V, 5, 203. 
rent. To rend ; to tear. Mids. Ill, 2, 215. 
renying. Denying ; disowning ; becoming 

a renegade. Pilgr. 250. 



EEP 



256 



RET 



repair. To comfort. All's. I, 2, 30. 
repasture. Food. LLL. IV, 1, 96. 

A sense somewhat similar to repast^ 

i.e., a meal. 
repeal, n. Recall from exile. Gent. Ill, 

1, 234 ; Cor. IV, 1, 41. 
repeal, v. To recall from exile. Gent. 

V, 4, 143 ; RII. II, 2, 49. 
replenished. Consummate. Wint. II, 1, 

78 ; RIII. IV, 3, 18. 
replication. 1. Echo; reverberation. Caes. 

I, 1, 50. 

2. Answer. Hml. IV, 2, 13. 
report. Reputation. Cym. Ill, 3, 57. 
reportingly. On hearsay. Ado. Ill, 1, 116. 
reprisal. Prize. IHIV. IV, 1, 118. 
reprobation. Perdition. 0th. V, 2, 209. 

In some eds. the word here is rei^ro- 

bance. q.v. 
reprobance. Perdition ; damnation. 0th. 

V, 2, 209. 
reproof. 1. Refutation. IHIV. I, 2, 213. 

Troll. I, 3, 33 ; Cor. II, 2, 37. 

2. Contradiction. HV. IV, 1, 216; Per. 
I, 2, 42. 

3. Check ; reprimand. As. V, 4, 82. 
repugn. To oppose ; to resist. IHVI. IV, 

1, 94. 

repugnancy. Opposition. Tim. Ill, 5, 46. 

requiem. Mass for the dead, so called 
because it begins with the words, ' ' Re- 
quiem eternam dona eis, Domine." 
Hml. V, 1, 260. 

rere=mouse. A bat. (Plural, rere-mice). 
Mids. II, 2, 4. 

The word is a form of the Anglo- 
saxon hrere-mus, hrere being from 
hrer-an, to stir, to agitate. The name 
corresponds to the old word flitter- 
TYioiise, which is used by Jonson in the 
Alchemist, V, 2 : 

My fine flitter-mouse. 
My bird o' the night. 
Schm. gives rear-nioiise as the correct 
mode of spelling, but this is decidedly 
wrong. 

reserved. As it occurs in Cym. I, 1, 87, 
Johnson explains the expression thus : 
"I say I do not fear my father, so far 
as I may say it without breach of duty. ' ' 

resolutes. Desperadoes. Hml. I, 1, 98. 



respect, n. 1. Deliberation; reflection. 
Lucr. 275; LLL. V, 2, 792; John IV, 2, 
214. 

2. Reason ; consideration. Ado. II, 3, 
176 ; RIII. Ill, 7, 175 ; Hml. Ill, 1, 68. 

The passage in Merch. V, 1, 99, No- 
thing is good, I see, ivithout 7^espect, 
evidently means that the good or bad 
qualities of things depend upon circum- 
stances. 

respect, v. Misapplied by Elbow and 
Pompey instead of suspect. Meas. II, 
1, 169; do. 176, 177, 183, 184. 

respective. 1. Caring for; regardful. 
Merch. V, 1, 156 ; Rom. Ill, 1, 128. 
2. Worthy of being cared for. Gent. 

IV, 4, 200. 

respectively. Respectfully. Tim. Ill, 1, 8. 
responsive. Correspondent : suited. Hml. 

V, 2, 1.59. 

'rest. To arrest. Err. IV, 2, 42. 

rest. "To set up one's rest," meaning 
that the speaker is perfectly determined 
on a thing, is " a metaphor taken from 
play, where the highest stake the parties 
were disposed to venture was called the 
rest. To appropriate this term to any 
particular game, as is sometimes done, 
is extremely incorrect." Gifford's note 
in "Massinger's Works. " The expression 
occurs quite frequently in Sh. Lr. I, 
1, 125 ; Merch. II, 2, 110. 

The metaphor is generally said to be 
taken from the play of primero, a game 
at cards. Dowden, in a note on Rom. 
IV, 5, 6, says : " As I understand it, the 
stake was a smaller sum, the rest a 
larger sum, which if a player were con- 
fident (or desperate) might all be set or 
set up, that is, be wagered. In the 
game of primero, played in dialogue, in 
the ' Dialogues ' (p. 26) appended to 
Minsheu's 'Spanish Dictionary.' 'two 
shillings form the stake, eight shillings 
the rest.' Florio explains the Italian 
restare, ' to set up one's rest, to make 
a rest, or play upon one's rest at pri- 
mero. ' ' ' 

resty. Lazy ; slothful. Cym. Ill, 6, 34. 

retail. To tell ; to hand down. 2HIV. I, 
1, 32 ; RIII. Ill, 1, 77 ; IV, 4, 335. 



RET 



257 



UKt 



retire, n. 1. Retreat. IHIV. II, 3, 54; 

Cor. 1,6,8; Cym. V, 3, 40. 
2. Return. Lucr. 573 ; John II, 1, 258. 
retire, v. 1. To return. Ven. 906 ; Troil. 

I, 8, 281. 

2. To answer. Troil. I, 8, 54. 

3. To withdraw. RII. II, 2, 46. 
reverb. To echo ; to resound. Lr. I, 1, 156. 
reverence. This word, as used by Sh., 

has in general the~ usual signification, 
viz., respect and veneration. In some 
cases, as in HV. 1, 2, 20, it is used towards 
church dignitaries much as the word 
"worship " is used towards judges, etc. 
— a sort of title of honor. As it occurs 
in As. I, 1, 54, it has called forth a long 
note in most annotated editions. Thus, 
after quoting the passage, Warburton 
remarks as follows: "This is sense, 
indeed, and may be thus understood — 
The reverence due to my father is, in 
some degree, derived to you, as the 
first-born — but I am persuaded that 
Orlando did not here mean to compli- 
ment his brother, or condemn himself ; 
something of which there is in that 
sense. I rather think he intended a 
satirical reflection on his brother, who 
by letting him feed with his hinds, 
treated him as one not so nearly related 
to old Sir Robert * as himself was. I 
imagine, therefore, Shakespear might 
write, — albeit your coming before Tne 
is nearer to his Revenue, i.e., though 
you are no nearer in blood, yet it must 
be owned, indeed, you are nearer in 
estate." 

There was no irony here; it was all 
sober earnest, and Orlando spoke strictly 
according to the facts as they were 
recognised in England. The eldest son 
inherited the title and honors and these 
carried the revenues, so that Warbur- 
ton's alteration is no improvement. 

Caldecott's explanation is evidently 
the true one. He makes nearer to his 

* A strange mistake, seeing that the true 
name, Sir Rowland, occurs only five 
lines lower down. Warburton prob- 
ably had old Sir Robert Faulconbridge 
In his mind. 



reverence = "more closely and directly 
the representative of his honours ; the 
head of the family, and thence entitled 
to a larger proportion of derivative 
respect ; so Prince Henry to his father : 
My due from thee is this imperial 

crown. 
Which, as immediate from thy place 

and blood. 
Derives itself to me. 

2HIV. IV, 5, 41, e^seg." 
In regard to Oliver's sudden outburst 
of violence, Furness says; "It is evi- 
dently the irony in the tone, whatever 
- the word, which inflames Oliver. " But 
surely no irony was needed. It was 
Orlando's direct and bitter upbraidings 
(no irony about them) that excited 
Oliver into the attempt to lay violent 
hands on his brother. 
revolt. A deserter. John V, 2, 151 ; V, 

4, 7 ; Cym. IV, 4, 6. 
Reynaldo, fZr.jj. Servant to Polonius. Hml. 
rheum. 1. Tears. Ado. V, 2, 85 ; Hml. 
II, 2, 529. 

2. Saliva. Merch. I, 3, 118. 

3. Rheumatism. Meas. Ill, 1, 31. This 
is the usual explanation, but it is 
possibly wrong. See rheumatic. 

rlieumatic. Malone (Variorum ed., Vol. 
V, p. 216) says: "Rheumatic diseases 
signified in Sh. time not what we now 
call rheumatism, but distillations from 
the head, catarrhs, etc. ' ' In the Sydney 
" Memorials " it is said of the health of 
Sir Henry Sydney that ' ' He hath verie 
much distemporid divers parts of his 
bodie ; as, namelie, his hedde, his 
stomack, etc. And thereby is alvvaj-s 
subject to distillacions, coughes and 
other rumatick diseases." And in Hol- 
land's " Translation of Plinj'^'s Natural 
History," bk. XIX, cap. 23, occurs: 
" And these are supposed to be singular 
for thoses fluxes and catarrhes which 
take a course to the belly and breed 
fluxes called by the Greeks Rheu- 
matisms.'''' Mids. II, 1, 105. 

The accent is on the first syllable, as 
in Ven. 135 : 
O'erworn, despised, rheumatic and cold. 

The word is used blunderingly by Mrs. 



RHE 



S58 



EIC 



Quickly in HV. II, 3, 40. It is not very 
clear what word she meant to use ; 
lunatic and fanatic have been sug- 
gested ; perhaps erratic. 

Rhesus. A son of King Eioneus in Thrace 
and an ally of the Trojans in their war 
with the Greeks. He possessed horses 
white as snow and swift as the wind, 
which were carried off by night by 
Ulysses and Dioniedes, the latter of 
whom murdered Rhesus himself in his 
sleep. 3HVI. IV, 2, 20. 

Rhodope. A famous Greek courtezan of 
Thracian origin. Her name signifies 
"the rosy-cheeked," and she was a 
fellow slave with -^sop, the poet, both 
of them belonging to ladmon, a Samian. 
She afterwards became the property of 
Xanthes, another Samian, who carried 
her to Naucratis, in Egypt, in the reign 
of Amasis, and at this great seaport, 
the Alexandria of ancient times, she 
carried on the trade of an hetsera for 
the benefit of her master, Charaxus, 
the brother of Sappho, having come to 
Naucratis in the way of business, fell 
desperately in love with her and ran- 
somed her from slavery. She continued 
to live at Naucratis after she obtained 
her freedom and, pursuing her old 
occupation, amassed so much wealth 
that it is said that she was able to build 
the third pyramid. It is to this that 
allusion is made in IHVI. I, 6, 22. 
Herodotus tries to prove that there was 
no truth in this story, and it is claimed 
that the third pyramid was built by 
Nitocris, an Egyptian queen, famous 
for her beauty. On the other hand, it 
is claimed that Rhodope and Nitocris 
are the same, and the following account 
of the way in which she became queen 
is given : As Rhodope was one day 
bathing at Naucratis, an eagle took up 
one of her sandals, fiew away with it, 
and dropped it in the lap of the Egyptian 
king, as he was administering justice at 
Memphis. Struck by the strange oc- 
currence and the beauty of the sandal, 
he did not rest until he had found out 
the fair owner, and as soon as he had 



discovered her he made her his queen, 
^lian calls the king " Psammitichus, " 
but the accuracy of this is doubtful. 

The passage in IHIV. I, 6, 22, reads 
Then Rhodophe''s or Memphis ever 
was in the Fl. Capell suggested that 
or was a misprint for of, which it un- 
doubtedly is, and this emendation was 
adopted by Dyce and is now usually 
found in the g. a. text. 

rhymed. See rat and verses. 

Rialto. The meaning of this name is 
thus given by Florio in his "Italian 
Dictionary " : " As it were, Rivo Alto, 
a high shore. * * * An eminent place 
in Venice where Marchants commonly 
meet." The name Rialto was applied 
to three different objects : A large 
island on which the Exchange was 
built ; the Exchange itself, and the 
bridge which connected the island with 
St. Mark's Quarter. Sh. always refers 
to the Exchange. Coryat, in his " Crud- 
ities " (1611), thu s describes the building : 
"The Rialto, which is at the furthest 
side of the bridge as you come from St. 
Mark's, is a most stately building, being 
the Exchange of Venice, where the 
Venetian gentlemen and the merchants 
doe meete twice a day, betwixt eleuen 
and twelue of the clocke in the morning, 
and betwixt fine and sixe of the clocke 
in the afternoone. This Rialto is of a 
goodly height, built all with bricke as 
the palaces are, adorned with many 
faire walkes or open galleries that I 
before mentioned, and hath a prety 
quadrangular court adioyning to it. 
But it is inferior to our Exchange in 
London, though indeede there is a farre 
greater quantity of building in this 
then in ours." Merch. I, 3, 20. 

rib, i;. To enclose and protect from injury. 
Merch. II, 7, 51 ; Cym. Ill, 1, 19. 

ribaudred. Lewd ; ribald. Ant. Ill, 8, 20. 

Richard, dr.2J. Afterwards Duke of 
Gloucester and Richard III. 3HVL 
and RIII. 

Various attempts have been made to 
show that Richard was not the monster 
that he is generally represented in 



RIC 



259 



HIM 



history, but without success. Walpole, 
in his " Historic Doubts," was amongst 
the first. The consensus of opinion now 
is, that instead of representing him 
in the play as blacker than he was, 
Sh. has really done him more than 
justice. 
Richard, dr.p. Son to Plantagenet, Duke 

of York. 2HVI. 
Richard Coeur=de=llon. The passage (John 
I, 1, 267), Nor keep his princely heart 
from Richard'' s hand, alludes to a story 
told in the old metrical romance of 
"Richard Coeur de Lyon," a very full 
account of which will be found in the 
Introduction to the Third Series in 
Percy's " Reliques of Ancient English 
Poetry." In this romance we are told 
that Richard, on his return from the 
Holy Land, having been discovered in 
the habit of "a palmer in Almaye," 
was seized as a spy and thrown into 
prison. Wardrewe, the king's son, 
hearing of Richard's great strength, 
desires the jailor to let him have a sight 
of his prisoners. Richard being the 
foremost, Wardrewe asks him "if he 
dare stand a buffet fi'om his hand?" 
and that on the morrow he shall return 
him another. Richard consents and re- 
ceives a blow that staggers him. On 
the morrow, having previously waxed 
his hands, he waits his antagonist's 
arrival. Wardrewe "held forth as a 
trewe man" and Richard gave him a 
blow that broke his jaw-bone, and killed 
him on the spot. The king, to revenge 
the death of his son, orders, by the 
advice of one Eldrede, that a lion, kept 
purposely from food, shall be turned 
loose upon Richard. But the king's 
daughter, having fallen in love with 
him, she not only told him of the plot, 
but furnished him with forty ells of 
white silk " kever-chefes " ; these 
" aboute his arme he wonde," and when 
the lion attacked him he thrust his arm, 
thus pi'otected, down the lion's throat 

"And rente out the herte with his 

honde 
Lounge and all that he there fonde, 



The lyon fell deed to the grounded: 
Richard felte no wem," i.e., wound or 

hurt. 
Rastell, in his " Chronicle," makes 
mention of this memorable feat, but 
adds : " Therfore some say he is called 
Rycharde Cure de Lyon ; but some say 
he is called Cure de Lyon because of 
his boldenesse and hardy stomake." 

The reference to Great Coeur-de- 
lion's heart in IHVI. Ill, 2, 83, is to 
Holinshed's account of Richard's last 
directions as to the disposal of his body 
after death, which is as follows: " Fi- 
nallie remembring himselfe also of the 
place of his buriall, he commanded that 
his bodie should be interred at Fonteu- 
vard at his father's feet, but he willed 
his heart to be conueied vnto Rouen, 
and there buried in testiinonie of the 
loue which he had ever found in 
the citizens there. His bowels he or- 
deined to be buried in Poictiers, as in a 
place naturallie vnthankefull and not 
worthie to reteine any of the more 
honorable parts of his body." 

It is said that in accordance with the 
above directions the heart of Richard 
was buried in Rouen Cathedral, and is 
now in the museum of that town. For 
an account of the death of Richard, see 
Lymoges, 
Richmond, Henry Tudor, Earl of, dr.p. 
Afterwards Henry VII. 3HVI. and 
RIII. 
rid. To destroy. Tp. I, 2, 364; RIL V, 

4, 11 ; 3HVI. V, 5, 67. 
riggish. Wanton ; lewd. Ant. II, 2, 245. 
right, n. Satisfaction. Do me right (All's. 
V, 1, 149) = meet me in combat. Same 
expression in 2HIV. V, 3, 77 = pledge 
me in drink. 
right, adj. True; exact; downright. 
Mids. Ill, 2, 302 ; As. Ill, 2, 103 ; also 
127 and 290. 
rigol. A circle. Lucr. 1745; 2HIV. 5, 36. 
rim. Some part of the abdomen not very 
well defined. HV. IV, 4, 15. 

"The original reading [the Fl.] is 
rymme, which Capell, judging from 
the main object of the speaker, boldly 



RIN 



260 



»IV 



pronounced to signify money; others 
have wished to read ryno, but that term 
is probably not of such antiquity, and 
the conjecture supposes the original 
word to be rym, which it is not. Pistol, 
with a very vague notion of the anatom- 
ical -meaning of rymme, seems to use 
it in a general way for any part of the 
intestines; his object being to terrify 
his prisoner. 

The slender rimme too weak to part 
The boyling liver from the heart. 

Gorge''s Lucan. 

In the latter passage it seems more like 
the diaphragm, as Mr. Steevens inter- 
prets it, but it is not properly so. Nares. 
ring. See cracked and rush. 
ringlets. The curious rings which are 
frequently seen in pastures and on hill- 
sides were supposed to be caused by the 
fairies. They are of two kinds, one in 
which the grass is of a brighter green 
than elsewhere, and which were supposed 
to be kept in good condition by being 
watered and tended by these strange 
beings. Mids. II, 1, 9, and Wiv. V, 5, 
72. In the others the grass is poor and 
the ground almost bare. In these the 
grass was supposed to be injured by the 
dancing of the bad fairies. The refer- 
ences to these rings or ringlets in the 
older literature are quite numerous. In 
addition to those already quoted from 
Sh., see Tp. V, 1, 37; Mids. II, 1, 86 ; 
Mcb. IV, 1, 42. Drayton thus refers to 
them in his "Nymphidia " : 
And in their courses make that round 
In meadows and in marshes found, 
Of them so called the f ayrie ground 
Of which they have the keeping. 

Douce, in his note on Mids. II, 1, 9, 
says : ' 'When the damsels of old gathered 
the May dew on the gi'ass, and which 
they made use of to improve their com- 
plexions, they left undisturbed such of 
it as they perceived on the fairy rings ; 
apprehensive that the fairies should, in 
revenge, destroy their beauty. Nor was 
it reckoned safe to put the foot within 
the rings lest they should be liable to 
the faii'ies' power." 



The cause of these rings was for a 
long time a mystery, but it is now 
generally believed that they are due to 
the growth of a species of fungus which 
spreads from a centre, gradually dying 
down and enriching the soil as it decays, 
fungi being, as is well known, very rich 
in nitrogen. While the fungus is grow- 
ing, it crowds out the grass and causes 
an appearance of barrenness ; after it 
dies out or becomes dormant the grass 
springs up with renewed vigor. Mar- 
shall says that he has examined many 
of these fairy rings, but never could find 
any trace of the fungi. I think I ha\ e 
seen it stated that they are microscopic. 

ring time. In some eds. these words are 
hyphenated, but in the Cambridge Sh. 
and most others, as well as in the Edin- 
burgh MS., they are given as two 
words. In the Folios the word is rang 
time; Johnson suggested rank tiine, 
and Steevens conjectured ring thne, i. e. , 
" the aptest season for marriage. " Douce 
notes that ' ' in confirmation of Mr. 
Steevens's reading, it appears from the 
old calenders that the spring was the 
season of marriage." Steevens's con- 
jecture was confirmed by the finding of 
an old MS. which, as Knight says, 
" cannot have been written later than 
sixteen years after the publication of 
the present play," i.e.. As You Like It. 
The meaning given by Steevens and 
Douce is, no doubt, the true one, though 
Schm. gives an explanation slightly 
different. As. V, 3, 20. See rye. 

ripe. Mature; brought to completion. 
Thus reeling ripe (Tp. V, 1, 279) = 
ready to reel or stagger; in this case 
from drunkenness. Also, in LLL. V, 
2, 274, weejnng-rijDC = ready to weep. 
So, too, in Err. I, 1, 78, sinking-ripe = 
ready to sink. In Chapman's May 
Day we find rope-ripe, i.e., ready for 
hanging. Ripe, of itself, does not mean 
drunk, though we have seen it so defined. 

rivage! The shore. HV. Ill, Chor. 14. 

rival. An associate ; a companion ; a 

partner. Mids. Ill, 2, 156 ; Hml. 1, 1, 13. 

This word, which now means a com- 



RIV 



261 



ROB 



petitor or antagonist, is derived from 
rival is, one who uses the same brook as 
another, a neighbour. Even in Sh. 
time it was beginning to change its 
meaning. Thus one of Cotgrave's de- 
finitions is: "A competitor in loue," 
and it is used in this sense in several 
passages. Mids. Ill, 2, 155 ; Lr. I, 1, 47. 
c/. rivality. 

rivality. Co-partnership ; equality. Ant. 
Ill, 5, 8. 

rive. To discharge ; to flre. IHVI. IV, 
2, 29. 

rivelled. Corrugated ; wrinkled. Troil. 
V, 1, 26. 

Rivers, Earl, dr.p. Antony Woodville, 
brother to Lady Grey. 3HVI. andRIII. 
The name of Antony Woodville will 
be known as long as men give any 
attention to the history of English 
letters. He was one of the most learned 
men of his age and was the patron of 
Caxton, who, under his auspices, pro- 
duced the first book printed in England. 
He was also the translator of the second 
book printed by Caxton, viz., "The 
Dictes and Sayeings of the Philosophers 
translated out of French by Antone Erl 
Ryuyers." This was published in folio 
in 1477. 

rivo. A word of doubtful meaning ; a 
bacchanalian exclamation. IHIV. II, 
4, 126. 

road. 1. A roadstead; a place where 
ships may ride at anchor in safety. 
Merch. I, 1, 19 ; Sh. II, 1, 377. 

2. A journey ; a stage. HVIII. IV, 2, 17. 

3. An inroad ; a foray. H V. I, 2, 138 ; 
Cor. Ill, 1, 5. Probably a variant of 
raid. 

In 2HIV. II, 2, 183, Doll Tearsheet is 
said to be a common road, evidently 
meaning that she was easily accessible. 
As an instance of emendation run mad 
we find the reading Doll Tearstreet 
suggested. 
roast. The passage, 2HVI. I, 1, 109, in 
the g. a. text reads, 7nde the roast. In 
all the Folios the word is rost, and some 
doubt has been expressed as to whether 
rost should be rendered roast or roost. 



i.e., whether the reference is to the 
master who sits at the head of the table 
and rules the feast or to some one who 
is "cock of the walk," i.e., master of 
the hens that roost with him. It has 
also been suggested that it is the word 
roust, "the turbulent part of a channel 
or firth occasioned by the meeting of 
rapid tides," but how this could be ruled 
is not easily seen. Another suggestion 
is that it is roadst or council. This 
would be most appropriate provided 
any authority could be produced for the 
word roadst. 
rob. To plunder. In 0th. I, 1, 87, the 
expression: ''Zo%inds,sir, you''rerohh''d; 
for shame, 2Jut on your goivn, as it 
is found in the g. a. text, reads, Sir, 
y''are ro6'd, for shame put on your 
Gowne, in the Fl. * As found in the 
Fl. there seems to be a pun upon 
"robb'd" and "rob'd," which is lost 
in the modern reading. The admonition 
— init on your Gowne, lends force to 
this. Theobald thinks that goivn does 
not mean a nightgown, but his senatorial 
gown. cf. toga. This would be as 
much as to say : Put on your senatorial 
dignity and powers. 

In a note communicated to Dr. Fur- 
ness by the late Edwin Booth we are 
told that "Brabantio should be seen 
through the open window at his books 
or papers ; this would account for his 
appearance, instead of his servants, at 
this ' terrible summons. ' lago should 
keep in shadow during this." It 
must seem desperately presumptuous 
for a mere amateur like myself to differ 
from two such high authorities, but 
surely they are not sustained by the 
context. Brabantio could not read his 
books and papers without a light, and 
yet the first thing he does after he 
realises the situation, is to ask for a 
taper. Why should he order the serv- 

* The " Cambridge Shakespeare," which 
professes to give all important vari- 
orum readings, reads "robb'd" and 
makes no note of the readiiig of the Fl. 



£0B 



HOE 



ants to "strike on the tinder" if be 
already had a lamp burning ? And if 
he sat reading at his papers, he would 
have been dressed and lago's joke about 
"robbing" and " robing " would have 
fallen flat. I have no doubt that Sh. 
intended to have Brabantio in bed when 
Roderigo and lago roused him. See 
rouse and tinder. 

Robert Bigot, Earl of Norfolk, dr.p. 
John. 

Robert Faulconbridge, dr.p. Lawful son 
to Sir Robert Faulconbridge. John. 

Robin, dr.p. Page to Sir John Falstaff. 
Wiv. 

Robin Goodfellow, dr.p. A fairy. Mids. 
See Puck. 

Robin Hood. See Hood, Robin. 

robin = redbreast. A bird well known 
in Europe, but not an inhabitant of 
America, our robin not being a robin 
at all, but a thrush — the Turdus tnigra- 
torius or migratory thrush. The English 
robin is known to ornithologists as the 
Erithacus rubecula. It is not quite as 
large as the English sparrow, being 
about 53^ inches long and 9 inches in 
extent of wing, while the sparrow is 
6 inches long and 9^ inches in extent of 
wing. It has an olive-brown back and 
a red breast, the color of the latter 
being much brighter than that of our 
American robin. It is so great a favorite 
"with all classes in Great Britain that it 
is looked upon as almost sacred, so that 
amongst the common people it is con- 
sidered almost a crime to kill one. On 
the continent, however, it is regarded 
as a great delicacy for the table and is 
caught in enormous numbers by pro- 
fessional birdcatchers. It is a migratory 
bird, and on the approach of winter 
presses in myriads towards the south, 
although a certain number always re- 
main in their old haunts, so that in the 
coldest winter they may be seen even in 
Scotland, where they approach the 
houses and become quite familiar. It 
is curious that this favorite bird is men- 
tioned only three times in Sh. : Gent. 
II, 1, 21 ; IHIV. Ill, 1, 265, and Cym. 



IV, 2, 234, where it is called the "rud- 
dock " ("Raddocke" in Fl). In the 
latter passage allusion is made to that 
common belief which is embodied in the 
ballad of The Babes in the Wood, and 
which holds that the ruddock or red- 
breast always covers with leaves or 
moss any dead body that it may find 
exposed. 

In the passage in IHIV. Ill, 1, 265, 
referring to a redbreast teacher, a 
teacher or trainer of singing birds is 
undoubtedly meant. On this point, 
however, Marshall ("The Henry Irving 
Shakespeare") says: "Bullfinches are 
commonly taught to pipe ; redbreasts 
rarely. We might have supposed the 
bullfinch to be the bird here meant, but 
robin redbreast is not, so far as I know, 
a name given to that bird." 

It may be well to note here that the 
English names given to American plants 
and animals are often misleading to 
American readers. When the first 
English colonists landed here they saw 
a bird which appeared to resemble the 
robin of their old home, much larger in 
size, it is true, but with a reddish breast, 
and so they gave it the name of ' ' robin. ' ' 
The grouse they called a pheasant, and 
a bird half way between a partridge and 
a quail they sometimes called quail and 
sometimes partridge. Other names were 
misapplied, and if we wish to know 
with any approach to accuracy just 
w^hich plant, bird, beast or fish is meant, 
the only way is to use the scientific 
name. 

robustious. Rough ; stout ; sturdy. Hml. 
Ill, 2, 10 ; HV. Ill, 7, 159. 

rocked. Shook ; trembled. Lucr. 262. 

Roderigo, dr.p. A Venetian gentleman. 
0th. 

roe. This word, as used by Mercutio, 
Rom. II, 4, 41, has afforded some fun if 
nothing else. 
Benvolio. Here comes Romeo, here 

comes Romeo. 
Mercutio. Without his roe, like a 
dried herring. 

Here roe can scarcely mean anything 



BOO 



263 



EOS 



else tliau the roe of a fish. Dowden, in 
his edition of this play, gives the follow- 
ing interesting note on the passage : 
" Seymour has the grotesque notion that 
Romeo without his roe is vieo or O, me/ 
a lover's sigh. Rolfe thinks roe may 
mean mistress (from the female deer). 
Why, has not some 'ingenious gentle- 
man ' said that roe stands foriJo-saline? 
' A herring without a roe ' is the crown- 
ing comparison of Menelaus with con- 
temptible creatures put into Thersites' 
mouth. Troilus and Cressida, V, 1, 
168." 

Rogers, dr.p, A Sicilian gentleman. 
Wint. 

roguing. Vagrant; roaming. Per. IV, 

I, 97. 

roisting. Bullying ; blustering. Troil. 

II, 2, 208. 

romage. Bustle ; turmoil. Hml. 1, 1, 107. 
That this word, as used in this passage, 
has the meaning we have given to it all 
the coms. are agreed, but its origin is 
not so obvious. The words roomage and 
rummage are nautical terms almost 
equivalent to stowage. .Rummage has 
acquired the sense of to turn over, to 
search, and this change of meaning is 
not greater than has occurred in the 
case of many other words. Various 
origins have been suggested, but none 
that seem to aid matters. It is just 
possible that the word, as here used, 
may be a variant of roamage, a roaming 
or running to and fro in the land. 

Rome. That this word was, sometimes at 
least, pronounced room is evident from 
John III, 1, 180, and Cses. I, 2, 147. 

Romeo, dr. p. Son to Montague and lover 
and husband of Juliet. Rom. 

For note on fate of subordinate actors 
in this play, see nurse. 

rondure. Circle. Sonn. XXI, 8. 

ronyon. A mangy, scabby creature. 
(French, rogneux.) Wiv. IV, 2, 195; 
Mcb. I, 3, 6. 

rood. The crucifix. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 3; 
Rom. I, 3, 36; Hml. Ill, 4, 14. 

"It would appear that, at least in 
earlier times, the rood signified not 



merely the cross, but the image of (Jhrist 
on the cross." Dyce. 

rook, n. A cheater ; a thief. Wiv. I, 3, 2. 
(In bully-rook.) 

rook, i;. To perch; to roost. 3HVI. V,6,47. 

rooky. Misty ; gloomy. Perhaps full of 
rooks or crows. Mcb. Ill, 2, 51. 

rooted. Learned by heart. Cor. Ill, 2, 55. 

roots. The word roots, as it occurs in 
Hml. I, 5, 34, is rots in the Folios, and 
this has been followed in many modern 
eds. The Quartos have rootes. Either 
word makes sense, but roots seems the 
most forcible as well as the true reading. 
Rotting with ease does not convey as 
striking an idea as rooting with ease, 
and, as White remarks, the opposition 
of roots to stir in the next line also 
supports this reading. 

ropery. Probably the nurse's word for 
roguery. Rom. II, 4, 154. 

rope=tricks. Roguery. Shr. I, 2, 112. 
It has been suggested this word is here 
confounded with rhetoric. Others ex- 
plain it as " tricks such as are played 
by a rope-dancer." Malone says: 
'■'■ Ropery or rope-tricks oi'iginally sig- 
nified abusive language, without any 
determinate idea ; such language as 
parrots are taught to speak. " Another 
explanation is: "tricks deserving the 
rope, that is, hanging." Why not de- 
serving or calling for a whipping with 
a rope or rope's end ? cf. Err. IV, 1, 16. 

roping. Dripping. HV. IV, 2, 48. cf. 
do wn-r opting. 

Rosalind, dr. p. Daughter to the banished 
duke. As. 

Rosaline, dr. p. A lady attending on the 
Princess of France. LLL. 

Rosaline. Romeo's first love. Rom. II, 
3, 44, and elsewhere. She was prob- 
ably a Capulet (Rom. I, 2, 72), as her 
name was on the list of Capulet's in- 
vitations. See rote. 

rosemary. This plant was considered as 
a symbol of remembrance, and used at 
weddings and funerals. At weddings 
it was usual to dip the rosemary in the 
cup, and drink to the health of the 
newly-married couple. Sometimes it 



ROS 



364 



ROU 



made a garnish for the meats. Rose- 
mary was also carried at funerals, 
probably for its odour, and as a token 
of remembrance of the deceased, which 
custom is noticed as late as the time of 
Gay, who refers to it in his Pastoral 
Dirge. Nares. Dekker, in The Won- 
derful Year, has: "Death rudely lay 
with her and spoild her of a maiden- 
head. * * ♦ the rosemary that was 
washt in sweete water to set out the Brid- 
all is now wet in teares to furnish her 
buriall." Rolfe quotes from Sir Thomas 
More: "I lett it run alle over my 
garden walls, not onlie because my 
bees love it, but because tis the herb 
sacred to remembrance, and therefore to 
friendship, whence a sprig of it hath 
a dumb language that maketh it the 
chosen emblem at our funeral wakes 
and in our buriall grounds. " 

It was said to have the power of 
strengthening the memory. 

Rosencrantz, dr. p. A courtier. Hml. 

roses. In Hml. Ill, 2, 288, with two pro- 
vincial roses on my razed shoes, 
Hamlet is, of course, speaking of the 
ornamental shoe-ties called roses, con- 
sisting of ribands gathered into large 
knots. Dyce. A great deal has been 
said in this connection about the different 
kinds of roses, but such discussion is 
out of place here. Huiiter, "New Il- 
lustrations," Vol. II, p. 254, says : " The 
wearing of roses in the shoes was a 
fashion or, rather, folly of the times, 
it was carried to such an extreme. The 
roses may be seen in many portraits of 
the distinguished men of that age. The 
fashion is thus noticed by Peacham in 
The Truth of Our Times, 1638, in the 
chapter Of Following the Fashions : ' A 
sempstress in Holborn told me that 
there are shoe-ties which go under the 
name of roses from thirty shillings to 
three, four and five pounds the pair.' 
Yea, a gallant of the time not long 
since payed thirty pounds for a pair." 

The Clarendon Press eds. quote Randle 
Holme, "Academy of Armorie": 
" Pinked or raised shooes have the over 



leathei's gi-ain part cut into Roses or 
other devices." 

Ross, dr. p. A Scottish nobleman. Mcb. 

Ross, Lord, dr.p. A partisan of Boling- 
broke. RII. 

rote. To read by rote (Rom. II, 3, 88), 
is to repeat phrases learned by heart, 
but without intelligence or understand- 
ing. The friar tells Romeo that Rosa- 
line knew that his love for her was a 
mere mechanical passion as was clearly 
shown by his sudden change. 

rother. An ox or other bovine. An old 
English word, now obsolete. It occurs 
but once in Sh., Tim. IV, 8, 12. The 
reading in the Fl. is : It is the Pastour 
lards, the Brother'' s sides. This, as it 
stands, is nonsense, but it was changed 
to : It is the pasture lards the rother'' s 
sides, and this has been adopted in all 
recent eds. That the word rother in 
this sense was familiar to Sh. cannot be 
doubted. There was a ' ' Rother Market ' ' 
in Stratford, and out of it led " Rother 
Street." The word is also found in J 
many compounds, as Rotherham. ^ 
Rutherford is probably a variant of 
Rotherford or cattleford — fords in the 
olden time being notable places and 
giving names to villages, cities and even 
private mansions, e.g., Abbofsford. In 
an old dictionary (Baret's "Alvearie") 
we find : "the Dewlap of a rudder-beast, 
hanging downe vnderthe necke." 

Rotherham, Thomas, dr.p. Archbishop 
of York. RIIL 

rough=cast. A kind of plaster formed 
of lime and gravel, ruade quite thin by 
water and dashed against the wall to 
which it adheres and soon hardens. 
Mids. Ill, 1, 71. 

round, n. A crown. Mcb. I, 5, 29. 

round, adj. Unceremonious; plain-spoken. 
HV. IV, 1, 216 ; Hml. Ill, 1, 191 ; Lr. I, 
4, 58. 

To be round with = to speak plainly 
to. Err. II, 1, 82 ; Tw. II, 3, 104. 

round, v. To grow round ; euphemistic- 
ally = to advance in pregnancy. Wint. 
II, 1, 16. 

roundel. A dance in a circle. Mids. II, 2,1. 



ROTT 



265 



ROY 



roundly. Plainly ; directly. As. V, 3, 12. 

roundure. Round; circle. John II, 1, 259. 

rouse, n. 1 . A bumper ; a copious draught 
of liquor. Hml. I, 2, 127 ; do. I, 4, 8 ; 
0th. II, 3, 66. 
2. A carouse ; a drinking bout. Hml. 
II, 1, 58. 

In a note on Massinger's The Duke of 
Milan, Gifford tells us that "a rouse 
was a large glass, ' not past a pint,' as 
lago says, in which a health was given, 
the drinking of which by the rest of the 
company formed a carouse. Barnaby 
Rich is exceeding angry with the in- 
ventor of the custom, which, however, 
with a laudable zeal for the honour of 
his country, he attributes to an English- 
man, who, it seems, 'had his brains 
beat out with a pottle-pot ' for his in- 
genuity. There could be no rouse or 
carouse unless the glasses were emptied. 
In process of time, both these words 
were used in a laxer sense. They are 
used in their primal and appropriate 
signification in : 'I've ta'en, since sup- 
per, a rouse or two too much,' etc. 
Knigh t of Malta . ' ' And Gifford alleges 
that the word has a fixed and deter- 
mmate sense, and that Johnson and 
Steevens are wrong in defining it other- 
wise. But in this Gifford is surely mis- 
taken. There was nothing definite about 
either a rouse or a carouse ; the one was 
simply a drinking bout and the other a 
large, but indefinite draught, otherwise 
there could not have been a "little 
one." 0th. II, 3, 68. Skeat says: "I 
have little doubt that the original sense 
was simply 'noise ' or uproar." 

rouse, i;. To awaken ; to start game in 
hunting. 3HVI. V, 1, 65 ; RII. II, 3, 
128. Rolfe tells us that in the passage 
in 0th. I, 1, 69 : Call up her father, 
Rouse him : make after him, poison 
his delight, Proclaim him in the 
streets, "the first him refers to 
Brabantio, the second to Othello." 
Upon which Furness remarks : "Which 
is true if we follow Dr. Johnson's punc- 
tuation. But I prefer to follow Fl., 
where clearly Othello alone is referred 



to in both cases. * * * The main idea 
is to rouse and disturb Othello and 
poison his delight. " Rolf e's punctuation 
differs both from the Fl. and Dr. John- 
son's ed. Edwin Booth favored the 
interpretation given by Rolfe. See rob. 

Rousillon, Count of, dr.p. Bertram. 
All's. 

Rousillon, Countess of, dr. p. Mother to 
Bertram. All's. 

rout. 1. A mob; a crowd. Err. Ill, 1, 
101 ; Cses. I, 2, 78. 
2. A brawl. 0th. II, 3, 212. 

royal. A gold coin of the value of ten 
shillings (about $2.50). Hence Falstaff's 
saying : Thou earnest not of the blood 
royal, if thou darest not stand for ten 
shillings. IHIV. I, 2, 157. Also in 
IHIV. II, 4, 320 : " Give him as much 
as will make him [the nobleman] a royal 
man," the pun is between noble (6s. 8d.) 
and royal (10s). See noble. 

royal merchant. Commenting on Merch. 
IV, 1, 29, Warburton tells us that " we 
are not to imagine the word royal to be 
only a ranting sounding Epithet. It is 
used with great propriety, and shows 
the Poet well acquainted with the 
history of the People whom he here 
brings upon the stage. For when the 
French and the Venetians, in the be- 
ginning of the thirteenth century, had 
won Constantinople, the French, under 
the emperor Henry, endeavoured to 
extend their conquests into the provinces 
of the Grecian empire on the Terra 
Firma ; while the Venetians, who were 
masters of the sea, gave liberty to any 
subject of the Rupublic who would fit 
out vessels to make themselves masters 
of the isles of the Archipelago, and 
other maratime places ; and to enjoy 
their conquests in sovereignty ; only 
doing homage to the Republic for their 
several principalities. By virtue of this 
licence the Sanudo''s, the Justiniani, 
the Grimaldi, the Summaripo''s and 
others, all Venetian merchants, erected 
principalities in several places of the 
Archipelago (which their descendants 
enjoyed for many generations) and 



4 



ROY 



266 



RUE 



thereby became truly and properly 
royal merchants, which, indeed, was 
the title generally given them all over 
Europe. Hence the most eminent of 
our own merchants (while public spirit 
resided amongst them and before it was 
aped by faction) were called royal 
Trier chants.'''' 

Upon this, Johnson remarks: "This 
Epithet was in our Poet's time more 
striking and better understood, because 
Gresharn was then commonly dignified 
with the title of the royal merchants.'''' 
{sic. ) 

To which Hunter in his "New Illus- 
trations," Vol. I, p. 308, adds: "War- 
burton does not appear to have caught 
the precise effect of the term. ' A royal 
merchant, in the middle ages, was a 
merchant who transacted business for a 
sovereign of the time. ' ' 
roynish. Paltry; mangy; scabby. (French 

rogneux.) As. II, 2, 8. 
rub, n. A term used in the game of bowls ; 
an impediment. John III, 4, 128 ; RII. 
Ill, 4, 4 ; H V. II, 2, 188 ; Cor. Ill, 1, 60. 

In ' ' British Rural Sports, ' ' by Stone- 
henge, in the article on the game of 
bowls, rub is thus defined: ^^ Bub or 
set. — When a jack or bowl, in its transit, 
strikes or touches any object or thing 
on the green which alters or impedes its 
motion. * * * If a running bowl 
before it has reached the parallel of the 
jack do 7'ub or set on any person (not of 
the playing party), or on a bowl or jack 
belonging to another party, it can be 
played again. ' ' So that the meaning of 
rub, in this connection, is "to come 
into contact with any obstacle animate 
or inanimate." Swift has, "without 
rub or interruption," and Stanihurst 
makes the following comparison : "Like 
a bovvle that runneth in a smooth allie, 
without any rub." 
rub, V. In the passage, rub on and kiss 
the mistress (Troil. Ill, 2, 52), "The 
allusion is to bowling. What we now 
call the jack seems, in Shakespeare's 
time, to have been termed the mistress. 
A bowl that kisses the jack or mistress, 



i.e., remains touching the jack, is in the 
most advantageous position. Rub on 
is a term at the same game." Malone. 

rubious. Red like a ruby. Tw. I, 4, 32. 

ruddock. The robin redbreast. Cym. IV, 
2, 224. See robin redbreast. 

rudesby. A rude fellow. Shr. Ill, 2, 10 ; 
Tw. IV, 1, 55. 

rue. A bushy, woody plant known to 
botanists as Ruta graveolens. As rose- 
mary was a symbol of remembrance, so 
rue was a symbol of grace. Hence the 
allusion in Wint. IV, 4, 74. It was 
called "herb of grace" in Sh. time; 
thus we find in Cotgrave: "Rue: f, 
Rue, Hearbe Grace.'''' And in RII. Ill, 

4, 104, we find : 

Here in this place, 

I'll set a bank of rue, sour herb of 
grace : 

Rue, even for ruth, here shortly shall 
be seen 

In the remembrance of a weeping 
queen. 
Why it was called "herb o' grace," 
and especially why called "herb o' 
grace o' Sundays," has been the subject 
of much discussion. Warburton (prob- 
ably following Jeremy Taylor), in a 
note on Hml. IV, 5, 181, tells us that 
" Herb of grace is the name the country 
people give to Rue. And the reason is 
because that herb was a principal in- 
gredient in the potion which the Rotnish 
priests used to force the possessed to 
swallow down when they exorcised 
them. Now, these exorcisms being per- 
formed generally on a Sunday, in the 
church before the whole congregation, 
is the reason why she says, we call it 
herb of grace o' Sundays." On the 
the other hand, Malone (Variorum of 
1821, Vol. VII, p. 422) objects to this on 
the ground that " Herb of grace was 
not the Sunday name, but the every- 
day name of rtte. " And he further 
says: "Ophelia only means, I think, 
that the Queen may, with peculiar pro- 
priety on Sundays, when she solicits 
pardon for that crime which she has so 
much occasion to rue and repent of, 
call her rue herb of grace.'' ^ But it 



RTTE 



267 



RTJN 



seems hardly likely that Ophelia, even 
though mad, would have thus insulted 
"'the beauteous majesty of Denmark." 

On the question of the queen's wearing 
it "with a difference," much has been 
written. The term is one in heraldry 
(see difference), but whether so used 
here or not may be doubted. Steevens 
explains it thus: "You, madam (says 
Ophelia to the queen), may call your 
rue by its Sunday name, herh of grace, 
and so wear it with a difference to dis- 
tinguish it from mine, which can never 
be anything but merely rue, i.e., 
sorrow." Skeat makes the following 
note : " There is no difficulty here if we 
do not force the words into some heraldic 
phrase. It merely means this : I offer 
you rue, which has two meanings : it is 
sometimes called herh of grace and in 
that sense I take some for myself ; but 
with a slight difference of spelling it 
means ruth, and in that respect it will 
do for you. This explanation is not 
mine — it is Shakespeare's own. See RII. 
Ill, 4, 105 [quoted above]." But in the 
passage from RII., referred to by Skeat, 
there is no reference to "difference." 
Schm. gives the following explanation : 
" with a difference, because you are old 
and I am young," and he then gives a 
note on the supposed therapeutic effects 
of rue. 

It seems to me, however, that the 
expression is derived from heraldry. 
Ophelia and the queen were both to wear 
rue, and as their social positions were 
vastly different, Ophelia apologises to 
the queen for seeming to place herself 
on a level with majesty by suggesting 
that she wear it with a difference. 

Much has been said about the letter 
of Edward Alleyn to his wife in which 
he speaks of "rue and herbe of grace," 
and in the reply of his parents they 
speak of using " wormwode and re we." 
This would seem to imply that worm- 
wood was known as "herb of grace," 
but this may be a mistake on the part 
of Alleyn's parents. We all know how 
ready such people are to make mistakes 



in these matters, and Ophelia herself 
says, "we may call it [rue] herb of 
grace." That rue was used for such 
purposes is shown by Warburton's 
quotation from Sandys: "At Grand 
Cairo there is a species of rue much in 
request with which the inhabitants per- 
fume themselves, not only as a pre- 
servative against infection, but as very 
powerful against evil spirits." 

ruffle. To be boisterous. Lr. II, 4, 304. 

Rugby, Jack, dr.p. Servant to Dr. Caius. 
Wiv. 

rug=headed. Rough-headed. RII. II, 1, 
157. 

ruinate. To ruin. Lucr. 944 ; 3HVI. V, 
1, 83. 

rule. Usually defined as behaviour ; con- 
duct. Tw. II, 3, 133. 

Nares, referring to this passage says : 
" Apparently put for behaviour or con- 
duct ; with some allusion perhaps to the 
frolics called mis-rule." Dyce believes 
it is equivalent to rev el, noisy sport. See 
night-rule. The word night-rule has 
been supposed to be a contraction of 
night-revel, which in Sh. time would be 
printed night-reuel. Halliwell quotes 
the old statutes of London given by 
Stowe : " No man shall, after the houre 
of nine at the night, keep any rule 
whereby any such sudden outcry be 
made in the still of the night, as making 
any affray, etc. ' ' 

runip=fed. There has been great diversity 
of opinion in regard to the meaning of 
this word. Some say it means pampered ; 
others, fed on offal. Mcb. I, 3, 6. 

Rumour, dr.p. As a Prologue. 2HIV. 

run=away's. This word, as it occurs in 
Rom. Ill, 2, 6, has been a puzzle to the 
corns. Furness, in the ' ' New Variorum, ' ' 
fills twenty-eight royal 8vo. pages of 
fine type with a condensed account of 
the various emendations and annota- 
tions that have been made on it. In 
the Fl. the passage reads as follows : 

Ivl. Gallop apace, you fiery-footed 

steedes, 
Towards Phoebus lodging : such a 

Wagoner 



RUN 



268 



RUN 



As Phaeton would whip you to the west, 

And bring in Cloudie night immedi- 
ately. 

Spread thy close Curtaine Loue-per- 
f orming night, 

That run-awayes eyes may wincke, 
and Romeo 

Leape to these armes, vntalkt of and 
vnseene. 

The comments on this word may be 
divided into two classes : Those which 
seek to explain the text as it stands and 
those which suggest an emendation. Of 
the latter there is a very large number 
— between thirty and forty. We give 
some of them, omitting the originators' 
names as this would occupy too much 
space. These are specimens : curious, 
Cynthia's^ enemies', envious, in no 
ways, Luna's, neighbouring, noon- 
day's, renoniy's, ribald's, roavinge, 
rude day's, rumourous. Rumour's, 
run-about's, runagates' , run-astray's, 
runaway spies, run-i-th' -ways', soon 
day's, sun awake's, sun away's, sun- 
a,weary, sunny day's, sun-weary's, 
surveyor's, Titan's, unawares, un- 
ivary, Uranus, Veronese, wandering, 
wary ones', yonder. 

Most of these emendations speak for 
themselves; that is, to say, the line of 
thought which led their authors to put 
them forth is quite obvious. 

The first ed. who attempted an ex- 
planation of the passage as it stands 
was Warburton, and as his interpreta- 
tion has been adopted by several pro- 
minent eds. and coms., including the 
latest and one of the ablest (Prof. Dow- 
den), we quote it verbatim from War- 
burton's ed. of 1747, He says : 

" That runaways eyes may wink. 
What runaways are these, whose eyes 
Jidiet is wishing to have stopt ? Mac- 
beth we may remember, makes an in- 
vocation to Mght much in the same 

strain : 

Come seeling Night, 
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day, 
etc. 
So Juliet here would have Night's 
darkness obscure the great eye of the 



the Sun, whom considering in a 
poetical light as Phoebus, drawn in his 
carr with fiery-footed steeds, and post- 
ing thro' the heavens, she very properly 
calls him, with regard to the swiftness 
of his course, the Runaway. In the 
like manner our Poet speaks of the 
Night in The Merchant of Venice : 

For the close night doth play the Run- 
away." [Merch. II, 6, 47.] 

To which note Johnson (1765) appends 
the remark: "I am not satisfied with 
this emendation, yet have nothing 
better to propose." In the same year 
Heath published his "Revisal of Shake- 
speare's Text," in which he protested 
very strongly against Warburton's ex- 
planation and offered "Rumour's" as 
an emendment. 

In the elaborate resume of the sub- 
ject appended by Dr. Furness to his ed. 
of Romeo and Juliet, the earliest note 
from Steevens is dated 1773, but as 
early as 1765 Steevens contributed the 
following note to the Appendix to the 
eighth vol. of Johnson's edition : " I am 
no better satisfied with-D?\ Warburton'' s 
emendation than the present editor, but 
tho' I have none I have a good opinion 
of, to propose in its room, will yet offer 
at an explanation. Jidiet wishes the 
night may be so dark that none of those 
who are obliged to run away in it, on 
some account or other, may meet with 
Romeo, and know his person, but that 
he may 

Leap to her arms untalk'd of and un- 
seen. 

The runaway in this place cannot be 
the sun, who must have been effectually 
gone before night could sf)read its 
curtain, and such a wish must have 
taken place before the eyes of these 
run-aways could be supposed to wink. 

The "Revisal" reads, T/ia^ Rumour's 
eyes may wink, and he might have sup- 
ported his conjecture from the figure 
of Fame, i.e., Rumour, as described by 
Virgil, 

Tot vigiles ocvli subter, etc. 
And yet this is but a conjecture, though 



RUN 



269 



RUS 



a very ingenious one." Neither this 
note nor a synopsis of it appears in the 
Variorum of 1821, but it is substantially 
the explanation adopted by Schm. and 
Rolfe, who credits it to Hunter. It is 
also adopted by Marshall in ' ' The Henry 
Irving Shakespeare." 

In his " Shakespeare's Scholar " (1854 
Grant White suggested "Rumour" for 
"runaway," and defended it by remind- 
ing us of "the vital importance of the 
secrecy of Juliet's nuptials," and that 
" Romeo might be seen entering her 
chamber window by no one who would 
talk of or rumor it." But in his ed. of 
1858 he adopts Warburton's explana- 
tion, and in his review of Schm. " Lexi- 
con" he says: "Of all the many in- 
acceptable and needless explanations of 
this word (of which I myself once fur- 
nished one), Dr. Schmidt adopts that 
which is the most unacceptable, one 
presenting an idea which it is quite im- 
possible that Shakespeai'e should have 
had in mind : ' people who ramble about 
the streets at night to spy out the doings 
of others.' The inconsistency of this 
meaning with the context is mani- 
fest at a glance. These people (to whom 
it would be absurd to apply the term 
run-axvay) ramble about the Streets at 
night ; they need night for their occu- 
pation, and therefore, we are asked to 
believe, Juliet prays for night to come^: 
and prays for it ' that runaways eyes 
may wink,' i.e., because the darkness 
which is the necessary condition of their 
eavesdropping, and which they desire, 
will surely cause them to go to sleep. 
Moreover, Juliet cared for, thought of, 
no one who might be in the streets. 
She knew well enough that she was 
secure against all such spying. The 
Capulet mansion was no street-side 
house to be pryed into by any passer-by. 
Juliet's window, her balcony, her loggia, 
were separated from all that by a gar- 
den and a wall ; at Romeo's passing of 
which Shakespeare makes her wonder. 
This explanation given in the ' Lexicon ' 
is the most futile of all which have been 



elicited by this passage. Juliet's run- 
away is merely the sun." 

Mr. Halpin wrote an elaborate article 
to prove that the runaway is Cupid. 
Douce thinks that the runaway is Juliet 
herself, who nas rxm away from her 
duty. Various other explanations have 
been offered, but the great majority of 
coms. seem to be divided between those 
of Warburton and Steevens — the sun 
and observers in the streets. In the 
latter case runaivays = runagates, q.v. 
runagate. A vagabond. RIII. IV, 4, 465. 
So defined by Schm., followed by 
Rolfe. That the word is now used 
almost wholly in this sense is certain, 
but in Sh. time it seems to have been 
almost synonymous with runaway, and 
in the four passages in which it occurs 
in the plays it may bear the meaning of 
" one who runs away " quite as well as 
that of vagabond. And in "A New 
General English Dictionary," by Rev. 
Thomas Dyche (1735), runagate and 
runaway are given as synonyms and 
defined as "a dissenter, a rover, or 
wanderer." And in Rom. Ill, 5, 90, 
runagate evidently means " one who 
has run away." Even in RIII. IV, 
4, 465, it seems to me that "white 
liver 'd runagate " means a coward who 
has run away rather than one who is a 
mere vagabond or wanderer. 

Runagate is a corruption of renegate, 
which is derived from low Latin rene- 
gatus, to deny again ; hence = an 
apostate, a deserter. " It is remarkable 
that when renegate had been corrupted 
into runagate, we borrowed the word 
over again, in the form renegade, from 
Spanish renegado. It is a pity we 
could not do without it altogether." 
Skeat. 
The other passages in which runagate 

occurs are Gym. I, 6, 137, and IV, 2, 62. 
running banquet. In the original sense, 

a hasty refreshment. In HVIII. I, 4, 

12, the sense is obviously lascivious. 

In HVIII. V, 4, 71, it is a slang term 

for a whipping. 
rush, A well - known plant. Before 



BUS 



270 



»us 



the general introduction of carpets, 
the floors of dwelling houses, even 
amongst the higher classes, were 
strewed with rushes, E,om. I, 4, 36, 
It would also seem that for processions 
connected with great state occasions the 
pavements were strewed with rushes, 
2HIV. V, 5, 1 . Man hut a rush against 
Othello's breast. 0th. V, 2, 270. Staun- 
ton tells us that this is an allusion to 
the mock tournaments, in which the 
combatants were armed with rushes in 
place of spears. This has been generally 
accepted. Perhaps it is correct. 

As TWs rush for Tom''s forefinger. 
All's. II, 2, 24. This probably refers to 
the practice of marrying with a rush 
ring. This seems to have been common 
both in England and other countries, 
Breval, in his "Antiquities of Paris," 
mentions it as a kind of espousal used 
in Prance by such persons as meant to 
live together in a state of concubinage, 
but in England it was scarce ever prac- 
tised, except by designing men, for the 
purpose of corrupting those young 
women to whom they pretended love. 
Hawkins. As Tom is the man and Tib 
the woman, Hawkins suggested that it 
should be TonVs rush for TiVs fore- 
fin ger. But Mason tells us that it was 
the practice in former times for the 
woman to give the man a ring as well 
as for the man to give her one, and 
refers to the account given by the priest 
of Olivia's marriage in the last scene of 
Twelfth Night, in which he speaks of 
inter changenient of your rings. Be- 
sides, if we were to adopt the amend- 
ment of Sir J, Hawkins, it is probable 
that we would have to change fore- 
finger, as that is not the finger upon 
which the bride's ring is usually placed. 
For a discussion of the subject see Third 
Variorum, Vol, X, p, 870, and Brand's 
"Popular Antiquities" (Bohn's ed,), 
Vol. II, p. 107. 

rush aside, to. To push aside. Rom. 
Ill, 3, 26. 

rush-candle. "A candle made of a rush 
dipped in tallow. " Schmidt. It would 



be diflicult to make a serviceable candle 
in that way. The rnsh-candle or rush- 
light was made by using the pith of the 
rush (not the rush itself) for a wick. 
This was dipped in the melted tallow or 
used in a mould. Rush-lights were in 
use in Great Britain up to the time of 
the discovery of kerosene oil. Shr. IV, 
5, 14. 

rushling. Mrs. Quickly's form of rustle. 
Wiv. II, 2, 68. 

russet=pated. Grey-headed. The word 
russet is still used in the sense of grey 
as desci'iptive of a variety of apple — 
the russet. The russet-pated chough 
(Mids. Ill, 2, 21) is undoubtedly the 
jackdaw, whose ear-coverts and neck is 
grey. Bennet suggested that for russet- 
pated we should read russet-patted or 
red-legged. (French, a jyattes rousses. ) 
The emendation was adopted by Wright 
in the Clarendon ed. , but was abandoned 
by him after more mature consideration. 
See ' ' The Henry Irving Shakespeare, ' ' 
Vol. II, p. 377. 

rust. In the g. a. text Rom. V, 3, 169, 
part of the speech of Juliet reads : This 
is thy sheath [stabs herself] ; there rust 
and let vie die. This is the reading of 
the Folios. The First Quarto has rest 
for rust, and upon this Dyce remarks : 
" In several earlier passages of the play, 
the 4to., 1597, alone supplies the true 
reading ; and I suspect that here, too, 
it is right — I mean so far as it has 
' rest ' instead of ' rust. ' The former 
appears to me the more natural expres- 
sion : at such a moment, the thoughts 
of Juliet were not likely to wander 
away to the future rusting of the 
dagger ; she only wishes it, by resting 
in her bosom as in its sheath, to give 
her instant death. " Dyce's "Remarks," 
p. 177. 

Grant White, in his "Shakespeare's 
Scholar," p. 388, commenting on this 
passage, says: "'There rust' is an 
obvious misprint for ' there rest, ' which 
appears in the First Quarto, 1597." But 
in the notes to his first ed. of Sh. he says, 
referring to this Quarto, "where ' rest ' 



RUT 



271 



SAB 



has induced the supposition (to which, 
when I was green in judgment, I hastily 
agreed) that rust of the Quarto of 1599 
and subsequent old copies is a misprint. 
Its best support is Mr, Dyce's remark 
that 'at such a moment the thoughts 
of Juliet were not likely to wander away 
to the future rusting of the dagger.' 
But Juliet's thoughts do not wander ; 
they go forward, though not to the 
literal end. Her imagination is excited, 
and looking beyond her suicidal act, she 
sees her dead Romeo's dagger, which 
would otherwise rust in its sheath, 
rust in her heart ; and with fierce and 
amoi'ous joy, she cries — ' This is thy 
sheath ; there rust, and let me die. ' ' ' 
Clarke says: "The expression, 'Oh, 
happy dagger,' though meaning 'Oh, 
happily - found dagger ! ' ' Opportune 
dagger ! ' yet conveys an included sense 
that is in keeping with the word ' rest, ' 
which also affords antithetical effect 
with 'let me die.'' Poetically calling 
her bosom the ' sheath ' to Romeo's 
dagger, ' rest ' seems more in harmony 
than 'rust' with the image presented." 

ruth. Pitv. RII. Ill, 4, 106; Cor. I, 1, 
203. 

rye. A kind of grain well known in this 
country and on the continent of Europe, 
but not so well known in Great Britain. 
It is mentioned twice in the plays, while 
wheat is mentioned seven times under 
its own name and thirty-five times 



under that of corn. See corn. It is 
mentioned under peculiar circumstances 
in the song sung by the two pages in 
As. V, 3 : 

Between the acres of the rye, 
With a hey and a ho, and a hey 
nonino, 
These pretty country folks would lie, 
In spring time, the only pretty ring 
time, 
Etc., etc. 

In regard to this, W. Ridgeway, in 
"The Academy" for October 20, 1883, 
asks : " Is there not here a reference to 
the ancient system of open-field culti- 
vation ? The corn-field being in the 
singular [see line 19] implies that it is 
the special one of the common fields 
which is under corn for the year. The 
common field being divided into acre- 
strips by balks of unploughed turf, 
doubtless on one of these green balks,. 
' Between the acres of the rye, These 
pretty country folk would lie.' '' 

This calls to mind the old song " Com- 
ing Thro' the Rye," and the discussion 
as to whether the Rye there mentioned 
was a river or a rye-field ? The weight 
of evidence in the case of the song, as 
modified by Burns, is for the river, 
but there seems to have been a very 
old, and somewhat indelicate form of 
the song (now lost) in which the rye- 
field may have been meant. See ring- 
time. 




ABA. The queen of Sheba. 
HVIII. V, 5, 24. The name 
Sheba seems to have been un- 
known in English and Latin 
literature until after the translation of 
the Bible — Saba being the form pre- 
viously used. It occurs frequently in 
the works of Marlowe, Peele and others. 
Saba was a kingdom in Yemen, in south- 
western Arabia, and the person who 
ceime to vigit Solomon was queen of 



Sheba or Saba. Her name is unknown, 
but in the Koran she is called Balkis. * 
She was said to be a descendant of 
Sheba, the grandson of Cush. See 
Genesis x, 7. Josephus, however, says 
that Sheba was the ancient name of the 
city of Meroe, and that the queen who 
visited Solomon came thence. It is 
generally believed that the Abyssinians 

* This has a suspicious resemblance to 
BasiUissa, the Greek for Queen. 



SAB 



272 



SAC 



are descended from a colony sent out 
from Sheba or Yemen, and the Abys- 
sinians themselves have a tradition that 
after the return of their queen to her 
own country she bore a son to King 
Solomon, and that from him their 
present race of kings is descended. 

sables. A rich kind of fur. Hml. IV, 7, 
80. The passage in Hml. Ill, 2, 137, let 
the devil wear black, for I'll have a 
suit of sables, has not been quite satis- 
factorily explained. It has been sug- 
gested that sables is another form of 
sabell, which means flame color or a 
fawn color, a good deal brightened with 
red. This, of course, would be a striking 
contrast to the black worn by the devil. 
Capell thought that Hamlet simply ex- 
pressed an intention to have an ex- 
pensive and showy suit in opposition to 
the plain apparel usually worn during 
the period of mourning. The Clarendon 
Press eds. think that there may be a 
quibble between sables (black garments) 
and robes trimmed with the fur of the 
sable. 

sack. A kind of wine. The name is sup- 
posed to be derived from the French 
seCj dry, and to have been applied to 
wines imported from Spain and the 
Canary Islands. It was a white wine 
and was frequently taken with sugar. 
Henderson says that "they probably 
came into favor in consequence of their 
possessing greater strength and dur- 
ability, and being more free from acidity 
than the white wines of France and 
Germany, and owed their distinctive 
appellation to that peculiar sub-astrin- 
gent taste which characterises all wines 
prepared with gypsum. ' ' That gypsum 
or sulphate of lime was added to the 
juice of grapes before fermentation 
seems to be well established, but it also 
seems to have been the practice of the 
lower classes of vintners to add lime to 
wines which were too acid for the taste 
of their customers. IHIV. II, 4, 137. 
It is quite probable that the lime was 
added in the form of common limestone 
(carbonate of lime) ground to a fine 



powder. This would not only correct 
the acidity of the wine, but would give 
it ' ' life ' ' by the action of the carbonic 
acid gas which would be liberated. 

Sackerson. The name of a famous bear 
at Paris Garden on the Bank side, prob- 
ably named after his keeper. Wiv. I, 
1, 30. 

Sacrament. 1. The Eucharist. RII. I, 
1, 139. 

2. To take the sacrament = to take au 
oath. All's. IV, 3, 156 ; RII. IV, 1, 328; 
PHI. V, 5, 18. 

sacred. 1. Hallowed; entitled to rever- 
ence. Meas. IV, 3, 150 ; Merch. I, 3, 49, 
and elsewhere. In the passage (Troil. 
IV, 5, 134), thy mother, my sacred 
aunt, Steevens sees a Grecism, since 
"the Greeks give to an uncle the title 
of Sacred." And he further adds: 
" This circumstance may tend to estab- 
lish an opinion I have elsewhere ex- 
pressed, that this play was not the entire 
composition of Shakespeare, to whom 
the Grecism before us was probably 
unknown." Rolfe quotes this without 
dissent, but I see no force in it, and 
it appears to be decidedly far-fetched ; 
sacred here is probably = revered, a 
very common expression at the present 
day. 

2. Accursed ; damned (in the vulgar 
sense), or as a well-known French dic- 
tionai'y explains socre, "bloody." This 
is a Latinism which Malone illustrates 
by aiiri sacra fam^es, the accursed 
hunger for gold. It literally means 
"devoted to a deity for destruction." 
Riddle. 

The expression in Tit. II, 1, 120, our 
empress ivith her sacred luit To villany 
and vengeance consecrate, is thus ex- 
plained in the Third Vai-iorum, Vol. 
XXI, 291, and this interpretation has 
been accepted by most coms. , but Schm. 
gives it the usual meaning (as in 1) 
and Rolfe advocates this view on the 
ground that it is "more in keeping with 
Aaron's character to consider this 
ironical than to explain it as a Latin- 
ism." But I think the context scarcely 






SAC 



373 



SAa 



bears out this view, and besides, it was 
not only a Latinism, but a Gallicism. 

sacrificial. Reverend ; made as if to a god 
in sacrificing. Tim. I, 1, 81. 

sacring bell. A bell rung when the 
elements are consecrated at Mass. 
HVIII. Ill, 2, 296. 

sad. Serious. Gent. I, 3, 1 ; Err. Ill, 1, 
19 ; Ado. II, 1, 358. Telling the saddest 
tale (Mids. II, 1, 51) = telling the most 
grave or serious story, 

sadly. Seriously. Ado. II, 3, 299 ; Rom. 
I, 1, 207. 

sadness. Seriousness. Ven. 807; Wiv, 
III, 5, 125 ; Shr. V, 2, 63. 

saffron, n. The plant Crocus sativus or 
autumnal crocus. The coloring matter 
is extracted from the stigmas of the 
flowers, and it takes over four thousand 
flowers to yield an ounce of the stigmas. 
The color is a deep yellow or orange, 
audit is still used to color confectionary, 
cakes and pies. Wint. IV, 3, 48. In 
All's. IV, 5, 2, the expression, whose 
villayious sa.fft^on would have made all 
the unbaked and doughy youth of a 
nation in his color, is thought by War- 
burton to be "an allusion both to the 
fashionable and fairtastic custom of 
wearing yellow, and to that of colouring 
paste with saffron." 

Sagittary. A terrible monster described 
in the mediaeval romances of the Trojan 
war. He is represented as a Centaur, 
armed with a bow and arrows, and 
having eyes of fu-e which struck men 
dead. In " The Three Destructions of 
Troy," printed by Caxton, this "beste " 
is thus described : ' ' Beyonde the royalme 
of Amasonne came an auncyente kynge, 
wyse and dyscreete, named Epystrophus, 
and brought a M [a thousand] knyghtes, 
and a mervayllouse beste that was 
called sagittayre, that behynde the 
myddes was an horse and to fore, a man : 
this beste was heery like an horse, and 
had his eyen rede as a cole, and shotte 
well with a bo we : this beste made the 
Grekes sore aferde, and slew many of 
them with his bo we. " A more circum- 
stantial account of this Sagittary is to 



be found in Lydgate's "Auncient His- 
torie." This is quoted in the Third 
Variorum, Vol. VIII, p. 451. Also in 
Dyce's "Glossary," and Rolfe's ed. of 
Troilus and Cressida. Troil. V, 5, 14. 
The Sagittary referred to in 0th. I, 
1, 159, has not been clearly identified. 
Knight says: "This is generally taken 
to be an inn. It was the residence at 
the arsenal of the commanding oflScers 
of the navy and army of the republic. 
The figure of an archer, with his drawn 
bow, over the gates, still indicates the 
place. Probably Shakspere had looked 
upon that sculpture. ' ' Upon this Rolf e 
makes the following remarks (see his 
ed. of Othello, p, 211): "The figure 
mentioned by K. is not ' over the gates, ' 
but is one of four statues standing in 
front of the structure. It represents a 
man holding a bow (not ' drawn') in his 
hand, but is in no respect more con- 
spicuous than its three companions. If 
S. was ever in Venice he probably saw 
the statue (if it is as old as the gateway, 
which was built in 1460), but we cannot 
imagine why it should suggest to him 
to call the place the Sagittary. That 
word means, not an ordinary archer, 
but a Centaur with a bow, as in the 
familiar representations of the Zodiacal 
sign Sagittarius. This is its sense in 
the only other passage in which S. uses 
it (Troil. V, 5, 14) : ' The dreadful Sagit- 
tary,' etc. That the Sagittary in the 
present passage cannot be the Arsenal, 
is, however, sufliciently clear from I, 3, 
121. The Arsenal was by far the largest 
and most prominent public building, or 
collection of buildings, in all Venice, its 
outer walls being nearly two miles in 
circuit. To suppose that anybody in 
the employ of the government would 
need the help of lago in finding the 
place is absurd." Dr. Rolfe evidently 
speaks from personal observation. Be- 
sides, if the Sagittary had been the 
residence of the commanding ofllcers, 
surely Cassio would not have asked 
lago : " Ancient, what makes he here ?" 
I, 2, 49, Verity, in " The Henry Irving 



SAI 



274 



SAL 



Shakespeare," has the following note: 
"I may mention, too, an incidental 
point of evidence, viz., that Coryat, in 
his 'Crudities,' gives a minute and 
detailed account of the Arsenal, and 
had the Sagittary formed a portion of 
the latter, it would hardly have passed 
without mention. Perhaps, after all, 
the name was a mere invention on the 
part of Shakespeare ; in which case it 
is a thousand pities that he has not had 
the satisfaction of laughing at the tor- 
tures to which he unwittingly subjected 
generations of editors." 

The name is not found in any list of 
the inns of Venice of that day, so it 
probably existed only in the imagination 
of Shakespeare. 

sain. Said. LLL. Ill, 1, 83. This archaic 
form of the word is used by Armado for 
' the sake of the rhyme. 

salad, n. Raw herbs, dressed with salt, 
etc., to make them savory, and generally 
with fragrant and piquant herbs to add 
to their flavor. All's. IV, 5, 15; Hml. 
II, 2, 462. The meaning in this passage 
is that there was no "high seasoning 
of loose ribaldry and luscious double 
meanings " in the play. {Heath.} See 
sallet. 

salad, adj. Unripe ; green. Ant. I, 5, 75. 

Salanio, [ dr.j). Friends to Antonio and 

Salarino. \ Bassanio. Merch. 

Salerio, dr. 23. A messenger from Venice. 
Merch. 

sale work. "Those works that nature 
makes up carelessly and without exact- 
ness. The allusion is to the practice of 
mechanics, whose work bespoke is more 
elaborate than that which is made up ' 
for chance customers, or to sell in 
quantities to retailers, which is called 
sale-work.'''' Warburto7i. As. Ill, 5, 43. 

sallad. So spelled by Schm. See salad. 

sallet. 1 . A close-fitting helmet or head- 
piece. 2HVI. IV, 10, 12. 
2. Salad or savory herbs dressed raw for 
food. In Hml. II, 2, 462, this word 
evidently means stirring passages or, 
perhaps, ribaldries. Pope suggested salt 
as the true reading, and this has been 



adopted by some on the ground that 
salt gives a high flavor and also that 
it has the double meaning of licen- 
tious, cf. 0th. II, 1, 244. See salt. 
Moreover, Baret, in his Dictionary de- 
fines salt as " a pleasaunt and merrie 
word that maketh folks to laugh and 
sometimes pricketh." The g. a. text 
reads sallets, and the meaning usually 
adopted is that given under salad, q. v. 

Salisbury, Earl of, dr.p. William Long- 
sword. John. 

Salisbury, Earl of , dr.p. A Yorkist. HV., 
IHVI. and 2HVI. 

Salisbury, Earl of, dr.p. RII. 

salt, n. 1. Flavor; spirit. Wiv. II, 3, 50. 
2. Tears. Cor. V, 6, 93 ; Lr. IV, 6, 199; 
cf. also John V, 7, 45, and Hml. I, 2, 154. 
In Gent. Ill, 1, 369, the cover of the 
salt hides the salt, this word evidently 
has two meanings, the salt itself and 
the salt-cellar. Malone (Third Vari- 
orum, Vol. IV, p. 86) tells us that " the 
ancient English salt-cellar was very 
different from the modern, being a 
large piece of plate, generally much 
ornamented, with a cover to keep the 
salt clean. There was but one salt- 
cellar on the dinner-table, w^hich was 
placed near the top of the table ; and 
those who sat below the salt were, for 
the most part, of an inferior condition 
to those who sat above it." Hence the 
expression "placed above the salt." 

A man of salt (Lr. IV, 6, 199) = a 
man of tears. 

salt, adj. 1. Preserved in salt ; old; as 
distinct from new and fresh. Wiv. I, 
1, 22. Schm. defines "salt fish " in this 
passage as "a fish from salt water," a 
strange misconception. This is not the 
meaning of the word as commonly used 
by English-speaking people, and it spoils 
the humor of the saying. 

2. Sharp ; bitter. Troil. I, 3, 371. 

3. Lecherous. Meas. V, 1, 406 ; 0th. II, 
1,244; Ant. II, 1,21. 

The two words salt = saline, and 
salt = lecherous are entirely different 
words from entirely distinct roots. Of 
their separate origin there can be no 



SAL 



SAN 



doubt, and they furnish another illus- 
tration of the reuiarks made on this 
point under pregnant, q. v. 

saltiers. Satyrs or hairy men. Wint. 
IV, 4, 334. 

"A dance of satyrs was no unusual 
entertainment in the middle ages. At 
a great festival celebrated in France, 
the king and some of the nobles person- 
ated satyrs dressed in close habits, 
tufted or shagged all over to imitate 
hair. They began a wild dance, and in 
the tumult of their merriment one of 
them went too near a candle and set 
fire to his satyr's garb ; the flame ran 
instantly over the loose tufts and spread 
itself to the dress of those that were 
next him ; a great number of the dancers 
were cruelly scorched, being neither 
able to throw off their coats nor extin- 
guish them. The king had set himself 
in the lap of the dutchess of Burgundy, 
who threw her robe over him and saved 
him." Johyison. 

For a more elaborate account of these 
frolics, illustrated with a curious en- 
graving, see Third Variorum, Vol. XIV, 
p. 371. 

saltness. Flavor ; effect. 2HI V. 1, 2, 113. 

salve. In LLL. Ill, 1, 75, et seq., there 
is a good deal of punning over salve, an 
ointment, and salve, a salutation or 
farewell. The learned Dr. Farmer re- 
marks on this: "I can scarcely think 
that Shakespeare had so far forgotten 
his little school-learning as to suppose 
the Latin verb salve and the English 
substantive, salve, had the same pro- 
nunciation ; and yet without this the 
quibble cannot be preserved." But the 
pun seems to have been common in Sh. 
time. Steevens notes that "the same 
quibble occurs in Aristippus, or The 
Jovial Philosopher (1630) : 
Salve, Master Simplicius. 
Salve me ; 'tis but a surgeon's com- 
plement. 

Costard seems to think that enigma, 

riddle and 1 'envoy all mean various 

kinds of salve. &>eeplantain and P envoy. 

Samkigo. A contraction of Saint Dom- 



ingo, the patron saint of drinkers. 
2HIV. V, 3, 77. 

Sampson, dr. p. Servant to Capulet. 
Rom. 

sand=bag:. "As according to the old 
laws of duels, knights were to fight with 
the lance and sword : so those of inferior 
rank fought with an ebon staff or bat- 
toon, to the further end of which was 
fixed a bag crammed hard with sand. 
To this custom Hudibras has alluded in 
these humorous lines : 

Engag'd with money-bags as bold 
As men with sand-bags did of old." 

Warburton. 

This mode of fighting is described in 
2HVI. II, 3. 
sand=blind. Half -blind ; purblind. Merch. 

II, 2, 37. 

This word is hyphenated in the g. a. 
text as well as the Fl. But in high- 
gravel blind, high and gravel are 
hyphenated, but not gravel and blind. 
In the Fl. it is high grauel blinde; some 
eds. high-gravel-blind. The word sand- 
blind is in common use in Scotland ; 
stone-blind is a common expression 
wherever the English language is spoken, 
and Launcelot finds a degree between 
these — gravel-blind. Hales thinks that 
sand-blind means half-blind (Anglo- 
saxon, sdm), but this is not probable. 
More likely it signifies a condition of 
the sight resembling that blinking state 
caused by sand getting into the eyes. 

sanded. Of a sandy color ; explained by 
some as, marked with yellow spots. 
Mids. IV, 1, 126. 

Sands, Lord, dr. p. HVIII. 

sans. French for without. Thus, in Tp. 
I, 2, 97, we have sayis limit = without 
bound. Nares tells us that "a general 
combination seems to have subsisted 
among all our poets to introduce this 
French word, certainly very convenient 
for their verse, into the English lan- 
guage ; but in vain, the country never 
received it ; and it has always appeared 
as an exotic, even though the elder 
poets Anglicized its form into saunce 
or gave it the English pronunciation. 



'SAR 



276 



Sat 



* * * It seems to have been generally 
pronounced as an English word and not 
with the French sound. Shakespeare, 
who used it four times in one line, must 
' strongly have felt the want of a mono- 
syllable bearing that sense : Sans teeth, 
sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. 
As, II, 7, 166. It seems, indeed, quite 
impossible to substitute any equivalent 
expressions, in the place of this very 
energetic line." He then goes on and 
gives seven instances of its use by con- 
temporary writers. 0th. I, 3, 64. The 
line, Sans sans, I pray you (LLL. V, 
2, 416), means leave out the sans; your 
love is not without crack or flaw. 
sarcenet, ) A fine, thin silk stuff, plain 
sarsenet. ) or twilled, especially valued 
for its softness. Troil. V, 1, 36. 

In the passage. And givest such sar- 
cenet surety for thy oaths (IHIV. Ill, 
1, 256), sarcenet means delicate, soft, 
affected. Schm. explains it as meaning 
" such as becomes a mercer's wife," but 
this does not exactly correspond to the 
idea involved. 
Satis quod sufficit. Latin for enough 
is sufficient, or, as the proverb goes, 
" enough is as good as a feast." LLL. 
V, 1, 1. 
Saturn. The oldest of the gods, known 
in Greek mythology as Cronos (Time). 
He was the son of Uranus (Heaven) and 
Ge (the Earth), and was the father of 
Jupiter (Zeus), NejDtune (Poseidon), and 
Pluto (Hades), At the instigation of 
his mother, Cronos unmanned his father 
for having thrown the Cyclopes, who 
were likewise his children by Ge, into 
Tartarus. Out of the blood thus shed 
sprang up the Erinnyes or Furies. See 
Furies. When the Cyclopes were de- 
livered from Tartarus, the government 
of the world was taken from Uranus 
and given to Cronos, who in turn was 
dethroned by Zeus, or Jupiter. 

The Ronaans identified their god, 
Saturn, with Cronos, and the legend 
runs that he came to Italy during the 
reign of Janus and introduced agi'icul- 
ture and the habits of civilised life in 



general. His reign on earth was known 
as the Golden Age (see age, golden). 
Like many other mythical kings, he 
suddenly disappeared, the fable being 
that he had been removed to the abodes 
of the gods. A statue was erected to 
him, which was hollow and filled with 
oil, probably to denote the fertility of 
Latium in olives. He is represented as 
holding in his hand a crooked pruning 
knife, his feet being surrounded with a 
woollen ribbon. In the pediment of the 
temple of Saturn were seen two figures 
resembling Tritons, with horns, and 
whose lower extremities grew out of 
the ground. 

The ancients assigned the seven known 
planets and seven metals to certain 
gods. The common names of the planets 
are the same as the names of the gods, 
but the common names of the metals 
and their relations to the planets ai'e 
not so generally known. In the old 
alchemical system gold was Sol, the 
sun ; silver was Luna, the moon, hence 
the salts of silver were called lunar 
salts, e.g., lunar caustic, or silver 
nitrate ; the metal Mercury and the 
planet have the same common name ; 
copper was Venus, and salts of copper 
were known as Venereal salts or salts 
of Cyprus (see Paphos) ; iron was ilfars, 
and salts of iron were known to the old 
pharmacists as martial salts ; tin was 
Jupiter, and salts of tin were called 
jovial salts ; lead was Saturn, and 
even to-day, lead ointment is known as 
Saturnine ointment. Lead, being a 
dull, heavy metal, was supposed to 
correspond to the qualities of the planet, 
which is not very bright and of a dull, 
cold color. Hence, Saturn was the 
emblem of coldness and apathy. Sonn. 
XCVIII, 4 ; Cym. II, 5, 4 ; Tit, II, 3, 
31. Among the astrologers Saturn was 
regarded as an evil planet. This is well 
set forth in a note by Dr. Furness on 
Ado. I, 3, 12, in which he quotes from 
"Batman vppon Bartholome" as fol- 
lows : " Saturnus is an euill willed 
Planet, colde and drie, a night Placet' 



SAT 



SCA 



and heauie. And therefore by fables 
he is painted as an old man, his circle 
is most farre from the earth, and neuer- 
thelesse it is most noifull to the earth. 
And for that he is far from the earth, 
he f ul endeth not his course before 30. 
yeres. And greeueth more when he 
goeth backwarde than when he goeth 
forth right. * * * And therefore a 
child & other broodes, that be conceiued 
& come forth vnder his Lordship, dye, 
or have full euill qualities. For * * * 
he maketh a man browne and fowle, 
misdoing slowe, and heauie, eleinge 
[ailing ?] and sorie, seldom gladde and 
merrye or laughing. " For the rest we 
must refer the reader to Dr. Furness's 
admirable ed. of Ado. p. 51. 

Saturtiinus, dr.jD. Emperor of Rome. 
Tit. 

Satyr. A creature generally represented 
as half man, half goat and of a very 
sensual expression. Hml. I, 2, 140. 

The Satyrs were a class of beings in 
Greek mythology who ai-e inseparably 
connected with the worship of Dionysus 
(Bacchus), and represent the luxuriant 
vital powers of nature. In their ap- 
pearance they somewhat resembled 
goats or rams. The appearance of the 
Satyrs is described by later writers as 
robust and rough, though with various 
modifications, but their general features 
are as follows : The hair is bristly, the 
nose round and somewhat turned up- 
wards, the ears pointed at the top like 
those of animals ; they generally have 
little horns or, at least, two horn-like 
protuberances, and at or near the end 
of the back there appears a little tail 
like that of a horse or goat. In works 
of art they are represented at different 
stages of life ; the older ones, commonly 
called Seilens or Silens, usually have 
bald heads and beards, and the younger 
ones are termed Satyrisci. All kinds 
of Satyrs belong to the retinue of 
Dionysus (Bacchus) and are always 
described as fond of wine, whence they 
often appear either with a cup or a 
thyrsus (see Bacchus) in their hand. 



They are devoted to every kind of 
sensual pleasure, whence they are seen 
sleeping, playing musical instruments 
or engaged in voluptuous dances with 
nymphs. Like all the gods dwelling in 
forests and fields, they were greatly 
dreaded by mortals. 

Later writers, especially the Roman 
poets, confound the Satyrs with the 
Pans and the Italian Fawns, and accord- 
ingly represent them with larger horns 
and goat's feet, although originally they 
were a quite distinct kind of beings, 
and in works of art, too, they are kept 
quite distinct. Satyrs usually appear 
with flutes, the thyrsus, syrinx, the 
shepherd's staff, cups or bags filled with 
wine. They are dressed with the skins 
of animals and wear wreaths of vine, 
ivy or fir. Representations of them 
are still very numerous, but the most 
celebrated in antiquity was the Satyr 
of Praxiteles at Athens. 

saucy. 1. Wanton ; lascivious. Meas. 
II, 4, 4.5 ; All's. IV, 4, 23. 
2. Insolent ; outrageous. 0th. I, 1, 189. 
" Used in a stronger sense than merely 
malapert. Compare Mcb. Ill, 4, 25 : 
/ am * * * hound in to saucy doubts 
and fears. ' ' Furness. 

saw. A maxim ; a moral saying. As. 
II, 7, 156 ; Hml. I, 5, 100 ; Lr. II, 2, 167. 

sawn. Sown. Compl. 91. Not seen as 
Malone defines it. The form is still 
used in Scotland and may be found in 
Burns. 

say. 1. A kind of silk. 2HVLIV,7, 27 
2. Assay; taste ; relish. Lr. V, 3, 143. 

Say, Lord, dr.p. 2HVI. 

'sblood. A contraction of " God's blood. " 
In some eds. the word is uniformly sup- 
pressed in obedience to a law passed in 
1606 prohibiting the use of the name of 
God on the stage. See God. IHIV. I, 
2, 82 ; Hml. II, 2, 384 ; 0th. I, 1, 4. 

scaffoldage. The floor of the stage. Troil. 

1, 3, 156. 

scald. Bailey gives scaley head or scurvy 
or scabby head. HV. V, 1, 5 ; Ant. V, 

2, 215. See scall. 

scale. To weigh ; to measure. Meas. Ill, 



SCA 



278 



SCR 



1, 266; Cor. II, 3, 257. Some make 
scaled, as it occurs in Meas. Ill, 1, 
266 = stripped of scales ; unmasked. 

In Cor. I, 1, 95, the word stale, as 
found in the g. a. text, is scale in the 
Folios. To stale, of course, is to make 
old or threadbare. For a discussion of 
scale in this connection, see the Rugby 
ed. of Coriolanus, by Whitelaw. 

Scales, Lord, dr. p. Brother to Lady 
Gray. 2HVI. 

scall. Usually explained as Evans's word 
for scald, q.v. Wiv. Ill, 1, 123. Per- 
haps = puny ; unfledged. A scall is a 
dialect term for a young nestling. 

scamble. To struggle ; to scramble for. 
Ado. V, 1, 94; John IV, 3, 146 ; HV. V, 

2, 218. 

scamels. This word has given rise to 
pages of ' ' conjectural emendations, ' ' 
and its meaning is still in doubt. Sea- 
mews, limpets, staniels, etc., etc., have 
all been suggested. Probably some 
rock-breeding bird was intended. Sea- 
mews are called sea-tnells in some 
localities. Tp. II, 2, 176. 

scantling. A small portion. Troil. I, 

3, 341. 

Schm. explains it as "a pattern, a 
sample." Verity says it "signifies not 
so much a ' sample ' as ' a measure, ' 
proportion.'" Properly, it means "a 
cut piece of timber.'' Malone quotes 
from Florio's translation of Montaigne's 
"Essays " : " When the lion's skin will 
not suffice, we must add a scantling of 
the fox's." 

scape. A mutilated form of escape. 
Skeat. Still retained in the compounds 
scapegoat, scapegrace. From the Latin 
ex capxid, out of one's cape or cloak. 
The word scape is frequently used by 
Sh. Sometimes printed 'scape, but, as 
Skeat says, the apostrophe is unneces- 
sary. Tp. II, 1, 146 ; Meas. Ill, 2, 197 ; 
Mcb. IV, 3, 234. 

scarf, V. 1. To cover as with a bandage 
or scarf. Mcb. Ill, 2, 47. cf. Rom. I, 
4,4. 

2. To decorate with flags and streamers. 
Merch. II, 6, 15. 



3. To put on loosely like a scarf. Hml, 
V, 2, 13. 

Scarlet and John. These were two famous 
companions of Robin Hood. 2HIV. V, 3, 
107. In Wiv. I, 1, 177, Falstaff addresses 
Bardolph and Nym as Scarlet and John, 
names which were quite appropriate as 
they were his companions in robbery. 
Warburton says that the humour con- 
sists in the allusion to Bardolph's red 
face. Perhaps. 

scarre. This is one of the words which 
have defied satisfactory explanation or 
emendation. The passage is hopelessly 
corrupt. We give a few of the pro- 
posed emendations and then leave it to 
our readers. In the Fl., All's. IV, 2, 
38 and 39, read : 
I see that men make rope's in such a 

scarre 
That wee'l forsake ourselues. Give 

me that Ring." 
Rowe suggested : " make hopes in 
such alTairs" ; Malone: "make hopes, 
in such a scene"; Mitf ord : "make 
hopes in such a case ' ' ; Halliwell : 
" may cope's in such a sorte " ; Staun- 
ton : "make hopes, in such a snare"; 
Eannear : "have hopes, in such a cause. " 
None of these is satisfactory. 

Scarus, dr.p. Friend to Antony. Ant. 

scathful. Destructive ; damaging. Tw. 
V, 1, 59. 

scene individable. A play which observes 
unity of place; "poem unlimited" 
means a play which disregards the 
unities." Dowden. 

scholar. In Sh. time this term usually 
meant one who spoke Latin. In Hml. 
I, 1, 42, on the appearance of the Ghost, 
Marcellus says: Thou art a scholar; 
speak to it, Horatio, and the force of 
this speech lies in the fact that it has 
always been a vulgar notion that spirits 
and supernatural beings can only be 
spoken to with propriety or effect by 
persons of learning. Thus Toby, in 
The Night Walker, by Beaumont and 
Fletcher, says : 

" It grows still longer, 
'Tis steeple-high now; and it sails 
away, nurse. 



SCH 



Let's call the butler up, for he speaks 

Latin, 
And that will daunt the devil." 
In like manner the honest Butler, in 
Mr Addison's Drummer, recommends 
the bte ward to speak Latin to the Ghost 
m that play. Reed. 

In Ado. II, 1, 263, Benedick says of 
Beatrice: You shall find her the in- 
ternal Ate m good apparel. I xvould 
to Grod some scholar would conjure 
her. This follows the same line of 
thought. On this passage Furness 
quotes Tschischwitz: " Evil spirits were 
not exorcised by the sign of the cross 
alone, but cried out to the exorciser the 
Latin hexameter Signa tesigna, temere 
me tangis et angis, a verse which 
being a palindrome [reading forwards 
and backwards alike], reveals its dia 
bolic origin." 

Boswell gives as a reason for this 
popular idea in regard to this use of 
Latin that it was "because the church 
service was in Latin. " Third Variorum, 
Vol. VIII 145. But the general idea 
seems to be that it was because the 
exorcisms were in Latin. 
schooL In several passages in the plavs 
school IS synonymous with universitv 
As. 1,1, 6;Hml. I, 2, 113. Verity, in 
a note on the first passage, tell us that, 
even m the seventeenth century, the 
birchmg of undergraduates was by no 
means unusual, and further states that 
at Oxford the whipping of students is 
a contingency for which the statutes 
still provide. 
sconce, w. 1. A fortification. HV III 6 
76 ; Err. II, 2, 87. • ' ' 

2. The head. Err. I, 2, 79; Hml.V, 1,110 
^TrT^i ^' "^^ ensconce ; to hide. Hml. 
Lli, 4, 4. ril sconce me even here 
Ihis IS the reading iu the g. a. text. In 
the Quartos and Polios it is silence me 
Ihe emendation is due to Hanmer. cf 
Wiv. Ill, 3, 96 and 97. Some eds., how- 
ever, retain "silence " and give strong 
reasons for so doing. 
scot. Contribution; tax. IHIV V 4 
115. This word has the same origin as 



279 



scs 



shot (the reckoning at a tavern) q.v., 
and has no reference to Scotland. 
scored. The meaning of this word, as it 
occurs in 0th. IV, 1, 1.30, is not very 
easily made out, chiefly because we 
have no connected context to guide us. 
Steevens (3rd Var., IX, 420) says : " To 
score originally meant no more than to 
cut a notch upon a tally, or to mark 
out a form by indenting it on any sub- 
stance. Spenser, in the first canto of 
his Fairy Queen, speaking of the Cross, 
says : ' 

'Upon his shield the like was also 
scor'd.' 

But it was soon figuratively used for 
setting a brand or mark of disgrace on 
any one. 'Let us score their backs,' 
says Scarus in Ant. and Cleo. ; and it 
IS employed in the same sense on the 
present occasion. " 

To this Collier (2nd ed.) adds: "The 
sense usually attached to the phrase has 
been: Have you marked me like a 
beast, which you have made me by 
giving nie horns." Johnson explains 
It thus: "Have you made my reckon- 
ing ? have you settled the term of mv 
life?" Which Delius elaborates by 
saying : " Othello applies to Desdemona 
lago s words, ' you shall marry her ' 
and asks, 'Have you made out mV 
reckoning ? Are you finished with me « ' 
It is not until Othello is out of the way 
that a marriage with her is possible " 
^. J^f^ German-like gloss seeing that 
Othello did not hear the words of the 
speakers, but guessed at what they were 
saying from their pantomime. If 
Othello had heard the conversation, 
lago could not have fooled him. It was 
this trick, as set forth to Othello by 
lago in lines 82 to 88, that led Othello 
astray. 

scotch, V. To cut with shallow incisions • 
J^ cut slightly. Cor. IV, 5, 198; Mcb.' 

III, L, 13. 

scotch, n. A cut ; a slight wound. Ant 

IV, 7, 10. 

scrimer. A fencer. (French, escrimeur) 
Hml. IV, 7, 101. ' 



SCR 



280 



SEA 



scrip. 1. A written list. Mids. I, 2, 3. 
2. A wallet ; a small pouch. As. Ill, 2, 
171. When Touchstone opposes scrip 
and scriijpage to hag and baggage, it 
is evidently on the ground that a shep- 
herd's scrip or pouch is a trifling affair 
compared to the equipment of an array. 

Scroop, dr. p. Archbishop of York. 
IHIV. and 3HIV. 

Scroop, Lord, cZr.p. A conspirator. HV. 

Scroop, Sir Stephen, dr. p. RII. 

scrowl. Perhaps a variant of scrawl ; 
evidently means to write. Tit. II, 4, 5, 

scrowles, ) Shabby fellows ; rascals ; 

scroyles. ) " mangy fellows. " (French, 
escrouelles.) John II, 1, 373. 

scrubbed. Stunted. Merch. V, 1, 162. 

scull. A shoal ; a school of fish. Troil. 
V, 5, 22. 

scullion. A kitchen wench ; a domestic 
servant of the lowest grade. 2HIV. II, 
1, 65 ; Hml. II, 2, 616. 

scut. The short, stubby tail of hares, 
rabbits and deer. Wiv. V, 5, 20. 

Scylla and Charybdis. These were two 
dangerous rocks between Italy and 
Sicily. They were quite close together, 
and ships in trying to steer clear of one 
were almost certain to be wrecked on 
the other. Hence the proverb, "In 
trying to avoid Scylla he runs against 
Charybdis." This is the allusion in 
Merch. Ill, 5, 19. In the rock nearest 
to Italy there was a cave in which dwelt 
Scylla, a daughter of Cratseis, a fearful 
monster, barking like adog, with twelve 
feet, and six long necks and heads, each 
of which contained three rows of sharp 
teeth. On the opposite rock, which was 
much lower, grew an immense fig-tree 
under which dwelt Chai^ybdis, who 
tbrice every day swallowed down the 
waters of the sea, and thrice threw 
them up again. One tradition relates 
that Scylla was a beautiful maiden who 
often played with the nymphs of the 
sea, and was beloved by the marine god 
Grlaucus. The latter applied to Circe 
for means to make Scylla return his 
love, but Circe, jealous of the fair 
maiden, threw magic herbs into the 



well in which Scylla was wont to bathe, 
by means of which the lower part of 
her body was changed into the tail of 
a fish or serpent surrounded by dogs, 
while the upper part remained that of 
a woman. Charybdis is also described as 
a daughter of Neptune and Terra, and 
a voracious woman, who stole oxen 
from Hercules, and was hurled by the 
thunderbolt of Jupiter into the sea. 

*sdeath. A contraction of God^s death; 
a common oath in the time of Sh. Cor. 
1, 1, 221. See 'sblood. 

sealing. Sleeping. Ant. Ill, 2, 3. 

sealed quarts. Quart measures officially 
stamped to show that they would hold 
the proper quantity. Shr. Ind. II, 90. 
" In the reigns of Elizabeth and James 

I, there was a very wholesome law that, 
for the protection of the public against 
' false measures, ' ale should be sold only 
in sealed vessels of the standard capacity ; 
and the violation of the law was to be 
presented at the ' Court Leet,' or ' View 
of Frankpledge,' held in every hundred, 
manor, or lordship, before the steward 
of the leet." Lord Campbell. 

sea=maid. A mermaid. Meas. Ill, 2, 11.5 ; 
Mids. II, 1, 154. See mermaid. 

sea-mark. An object serving for a direc- 
tion to mariners. 0th. V, 2, 267. 

seam. 1. A line of union or separation ; 
the joint made by sewing. Per. II, 1, 1.56. 
2. Grease; fat. Troil. II, 3, 195. cf. 
enseamed. 

seamy. Having seams, cf. seam, 1. In 
0th. IV, 2, 146, the passage : that turned 
your wit the seamy side without, means, 
that turned your wit the wrong side out 
and exposed the coarse side of the seams, 
i.e., the most unfavorable side of your 
wit. 

sear, ^. 1. To brand. All's. II, 1, 176; 
Wint. II, 1, 73. 
2. To harden; to wither. Compl. 14. 

Seared is very properly substituted 
for fear'' d in most modern eds. in Meas. 

II, 4, 9, and Cym. II, 4, 6. The old 
form of s greatly resembled /, the only 
difference being the absence of the cross- 
line. Collier says that in Lord Ellesmere's 



SEA 



281 



SEL 



copy of theFl. the reading is sear''d not 
fear'd, which is the reading in most 
other copies. The misprint seems to 
have been corrected while the sheets 
were passing through the press ; this 
was often done in old-time books, the 
slow process of printing by hand-press 
in those days giving an opportunity for 
such changes. In the Cambridge Sh., 
Note IX, on Meas. it is claimed that 
the change was made by erasure, and 
this on the authority of Ingleby's " Com- 
plete View," p. 24. But on the pre- 
ceding page of this work, a question 
asked by Ingleby shows him to be a 
partisan whose bitterness overcomes his 
discretion, and to my mind his word in 
such matters is to be taken cum " &ar- 
relo " salts. See sere. 
search. To probe ; to sound so as to 
apply a remedy. Gent. I, 2, 116 ; Troil. 

II, 2, 16. 

season, n. Preserver ; that which keeps 
fresh. Mcb. Ill, 4, 141. Perhaps = 
preservation in Ado. IV, 1, 144. 

season,!;. 1. To establish ; to ripen ; to 
confirm. Cor. Ill, 3, 64 ; Hml. 1, 3, 81 ; 

III, 2, 219. 

2. To temper; to moderate. Hml. I, 2, 
192. 

seated. Situated. Lucr. 1144. 

Sebastian, dr.jj. Brother to the King of 
Naples. Tp. 

Sebastian, dr.p. Brother to Viola. Tw. 

sect. 1. A cutting ; a scion. Oth. I, 3, 
336. 

2. As used in 2HIV. II, 4, 41, this word 
is usually supposed to mean sex, and 
Steevens gives numerous examples of 
its use in that sense. But in this pas- 
sage it probably means trade or pro- 
fession. 

secure, acZy. Careless ; unguarded. Wiv. 
II, 1, 241; IHVI. II, 1, 11; Hml. I, .5, 
61 ; Kins. I, 1, 154. 

secure, v. To make careless ; to throw 
off one's guard. Tim. II, 2, 185 ; Lr. 

IV, 1, 22. 

securely. Carelessly; confidently. Lucr. 
89; Wiv. II, 2, 252; RII, II, 1, 266; 
Troil. IV, 5, 74, 



security. Carelessness. Cses. II, 3, 8 ; 
Mcb. Ill, 5, 32. 

seedness. Sowing of the seed. Meas. I, 
4, 42. 

seek him with candle. Steevens remarks 
on this passage in As. Ill, 1, 6, that it 
is probably an allusion to Luke xv, 8. 
But it might be to Diogenes and his 
lantern. The meaning evidently is : 
Make a most minute search. 

seel. To close up the eyes; to blind. 
Properly a term of falconry, to seel a 
hawk meaning to close up her eyelids, 
either partially or entirely, by running 
a fine thread through them in order to 
make her tractable and endure the hood. 
Mcb. Ill, 2, 46 ; Oth. I, 3, 270 ; Ant. Ill, 
13, 112. 

seeming. This word, as used in As. V, 
4, 72, is equivalent to seemly. Daniel 
suggests, however, that the word should 
be sivhnniing, and cites numerous ex- 
amples of the use of this latter word to 
describe a movement of the body then 
much in fashion (of. the schoolmaster's 
advice to the girls in Kins. Ill, 5, 28 : 
Swim with your bodies) ; but swimming 
was a movement and Audrey was 
standing still. 

seen. Well seen — well versed ; pro- 
ficient. Shr. I, 2, 134. 

segregation. Dispersion; separation. Oth. 
II, 1, 10. 

seld. Seldom. Troil. IV, 5, 149. Seld- 
shown — rarely exhibited. Cor. II, 1, 
232. 

Seleucus, dr. p. Attendant on Cleopatra. 
Ant. 

self. The same. Err. V, 1, 10; Merch. I, 
1, 148 ; Lr. I, 1, 71. 

self=bounty. Inherent goodness ; innate 
kindness. Oth. Ill, 3, 200. 

self=cover'd. The passage in which this 
word occurs (Lr. IV, 2, 62), Thou 
changed and self-covered thing, for 
shame, Be-monster not thy feature, is 
so obscure that it has never been satis- 
factorily explained, and numerous 
emendations have been proposed, none 
of which, however, has been generally 
accepted. The whole speech of Albany 



SEL 



282 



SEN 



and the reply of Goneril are omitted in 
the Folios. Theobald suggested self- 
converted; Becket, self -convict; Singer, 
false-covered ; Moberly, self-coloured ; 
Crosby, sex-covered ; Beale, devil-cov- 
ered ; and this does not nearly exhaust 
the list. But none of them, except, 
perhaps, that of Crosby, has attracted 
much attention. 

Johnson explains it as : Thou that hast 
hid the woman under the fiend. Ma- 
lone : Thou who hast put a covering on 
thyself which nature did not give thee. 
Rolfe, whose whole note on the passage 
deserves careful attention, says: "The 
meaning, then, is : " Thou perverted 
creature, who hast lost thy proper 
self (either thy womanly self, or thy 
self as it seemed to me, the ideal of my 
affection) and hast become a fiend, do 
not thus make a monster of thyself." 
Furness, after giving a page of opinions 
from others, winds up thus: "Is it 
over-refinement to suppose that this 
revelation to Albany of his wife's 
fiend-like character transforms, in his 
eyes, even her person ? She is changed, 
her true self has been covered ; now that 
she stands revealed, her whole outward 
shape is be-monstered. No woman, 
least of all Goneril, could remain un- 
moved under such scathing words from 
her husband. Goneril's 'feature' is 
quivering and her face distorted with 
passion. Then it is that Albany tells 
her not to let her evil self, hitherto 
covered and concealed, betray itself in 
all its hideousness in her outward 
shape. " This is very clear and forcible. 
The only point on which we would ven- 
ture to differ from Dr. Furness, for which 
see apology in our preface, is in regard to 
the meaning of the word /ea^u?"e. Dr' 
Furness, misled, I think, by Schmidt, 
who is certainly poor authority on the 
interpretation of English words, makes 
it mean her "shape, exterior, the whole 
turn or cast of the body. " (See his note 
on line 63). I think there is an error 
here. Goneril's face would exhibit her 
fiendish character, but surely her body. 



covered as it was by her dress, could 
hardly do so. For further note on 
feature see 3rd Var., Vol, X, p. 203, 
and the ^ord feature in our Addenda. 

semblable, adj. Similar; like. 2HIV. 
V, 1, 73 ; Ant. Ill, 4, 3. 

semblable, n. Like ; equal. Tim. IV, 

3, 23 ; Hml. V, 2, 134. 

semblably. Similarly. IHIV. V, 3, 21. 

Sempronius, dr. p. A lord ; a flatterer of 
Timon. Tim. 

senior=junior. Older and younger. The 
passage is evidently a collection of con- 
trarieties. In the Fl. it is "signior 
lunios gyant drawfe," and numerous 
conjectural emendations have been 
offered. The emendment generally 
adopted (senior- junior) was suggested 
to Theobald, but not adopted into the 
text by him, though he greatly approved 
of it. Upton suggested : ' ' This signior 
Julio's giant-dwarf," the idea being 
that Sh. intended to compliment Julio 
Romano, referred to in Wint. V, 1, 106. 
Upton tells us that this sculptor drew 
Cupid in the character of a giant-dwarf, 
but no one has ever discovered the 
sketch. Senior-junior is most probably 
the true reading. LLL. Ill, 1, 183. In 
the old tragedy of Gis monde of Salerne 
Cupid is called" the little greatest god." 
And in this play (V, 3, 11) Rosaline says : 

" That was the way to make his god- 
head wax. 

For he hath been five thousand years 
a boy." 

The evident misprint, signior for 

senior, occurs also in Ei'r. V, 1, 432, 

which in the Fl. reads : WeeH draw 

Cuts for the Signior. 

seniory. Seniority; eldership. RIII. IV, 

4, 36. 

Senoys. The Siennese ; the people of 

Sienna. All's. I, 3, 1. 
sennet. A flourish of trumpets. Occurs 

frequently as a stage direction. 
sense. 1. Feeling; perception. AK's. 

I, 3, 178 ; III, 4, 39 ; 0th. I, 3, 73 ; V, 1, 

II. In the latter passage, to the sense 
means, to the quick. The passage in Hml. 
I, 3, 99, the most vulgar thing to sense, 



SEN 



283 



SES 



is explained by Caldecott as : "addressed 
to sense ; in every hour's occurrence 
offering itself to our observation and 
feelings." See vulgar. 

The passage in the same play, III, 4, 
71, Sense stire you have, Else could 
you not have motion, has received 
several explanations. Staunton says 
the meaning is: "Sense {i.e., the sen- 
sibility to appreciate the distinction 
between external objects) you must 
have, or you would no longer feel the 
impulse of desire. ' ' The Clarendon ed. 
explains ' motion ' as = emotion. 
2. Sensuality. Meas. I, 4, 59 ; II, 2, 169. 

senseless=obstinate. Unreasonably ob- 
stinate. RIII. Ill, 1, 44. 

sensible. Feeling. Merch. II, 8, 48 ; Hml. 
IV, 5, 150. 

septentrion. The north. 3H VI. 1, 4, 136. 
The word septentrion is derived from 
the Latin septem, seven, and triones, 
ploughing oxen. The name was given 
by the Romans to the seven stars known 
as the "Great Bear," the "Dipper," 
" Charles Wain," etc. As they lie near 
the North Pole and two of the stars 
(known as the j^ointers) are nearly in a 
line with the Pole-star, the word sep- 
tentriones came in time to signify the 
north. 

sequester. Seclusion. 0th. Ill, 4, 40. 

sequestration. 1. Separation; divorce. 
0th. I, 3, 351. 

2. Seclusion. HV. I, 1, 58; IHVI. II, 
5, 25. 

sere. 1. Dry ; withered. Err. IV, 2, 19. 
The passage : The Clowne shall make 
those laugh whose lungs are tickled 
a' th'' sere (Hml. II, 2, 337), has been ex- 
plained in various ways. Steeveiis made 
sere = serum ; Capell explained it as 
"delighted with dry jokes"; Malone 
acknowledges that he is puzzled. 

The interpretation given by Nicholson 
in "Notes and Queries" for July 22, 
1871, seems to be the true one : "The 
sere or, as it is now spelt, sea?' (or scear) 
of a gun-lock is the bar or balance-lever 
interposed between the trigger on the 
one side, and the tumbler and other 



mechanism on the other, and is so-called 
from its acting the part of a serre or 
talon in gripping that mechanism and 
preventing its action. It is, in fact, a 
pawl or stop catch. When the trigger 
is made to act on one end of it, the 
other end releases the tumbler, the 
mainspring acts, and the hammer, flint 
or match falls. Hence, Lombard (1596), 
as quoted in Halli well's ' Archaic Dic- 
tionai'y,' says, 'Even as a pistole that 
is ready charged and bent will flie off 
by-and-by, if a man do but touch the 
scare. ' Now, if the lock be so made of 
purpose, or be worn, or be faulty in 
construction, this sear or grip may be 
so tickle or ticklish in its adjustment 
that a slight touch or even a jar may 
displace it, and then, of course, the gun 
goes off. Hence, 'light,' or 'tickle of 
the sear' (equivalent to, like a hair- 
trigger), applied metaphorically, means 
that which can be started into action 
at a mere touch, or on the slightest 
provocation, or on what ought to be no 
provocation at all. " 

sergeant. 1. A sheriff's officer. Err. 
IV, 2, 56 ; Hml. V, 2, 347. 
2. A non-commissioned officer in the 
army. Mcb. I, 2, 3. 

serpent's tongue. The phrase: If we 
have unearned luck, Notv to scape the 
serpenVs tongue (Mids. V, 1, 440), means, 
if we escape being hissed. Johnson. 
So in J. Markham's " English Arcadia '' 
(1607): "But the nymph, after the 
custom of distrest tragedians, whose 
first act is entertained with a snaky 
salutation, etc.''"' Steevens. See worm. 

serpigo. A kind of tetter or dry erup- 
tion of the skin. Meas. Ill, 1, 31 ; Troil. 

II, 3, 81. 

serviceable. OflBcious. Lr. IV, 6, 257. 

Serviceable vows = vows promising 

service. Gent. Ill, 2, 70. 
Servilius, d?-.p. Servant to Timon. Tim. 
sessa. A word of which the meaning is 

not very clear. Some regard it as a 

mere exclamation. As it occurs in Lr. 

III, 4, 104, Johnson thinks it may be 
the French cessez == stop ! spoken to an 



SET 



284 



SHA 



imaginary horse trotting by ; Steeven's 
thinks that in III, 6, 77, it is a corrup- 
tion of Cecilia, spoken to an imaginary 
beggar-woman. In Shr. Ind. I, 6, it is 
possible that it is equivalent to Johnson's 
cessez, but it is very unlikely that Sly 
got it from the French. More likely it 
is simply a low form of cease, meaning 
"shut up." 

set. Has the usual and easily compre- 
hended significations in most of the 
passages in which it occurs in Sh. As 
found in Cym, III, 4, 90, it obviously 
means to instigate ; to prompt. As it 
occurs in Hml. IV, 3, 64, several mean- 
ings have been given. Malone thinks it 
means to "set by"; Mason suggests 
"set at nought"; Singer thinks it 
means "to set or tell the price." Re- 
ference has also been made to Sonn. 
LXXXVIII, set me light = esteem me 
lightly; and RII. I, 3, 298, sets it 
light — makes light of it, i.e., sorrow. 
The general meaning, as we have pointed 
out in regard to many other passages 
in Sh., is obvious enough, and it seems 
to me that the word here has its 
original meaning, viz. , to place ; fix ; 
plant ; lay down. The adverb cofclly 
qualifies this sense sufSciently, and the 
phrase is equivalent to, coldly lay down. 

Setebos. The god of Sycorax, dam of 
Caliban. Said to have been the god of 
of the Patagonian giants, a description 
of whom had been published in Eden's 
"History of Travayle" (1577), and the 
name of their god Setebos given. Eden 
tells us that the giants, when they found 
themselves fettered, "roared like bulls 
and cried upon [their great devil] Sete- 
bos to help them. " Farmer. 

setter. A spy ; one who watches for 
travelers so as to give information to 
thieves. 1 HIV. II, 2, 70. 

several, n. 1. An individual; a single 
person. Wint. I, 2, 226. 
2. (In the plural.) Particulars; details. 
HV. I, 1, 86 ; Troil. I, 3, 180. 

several, (ad/.?). The passage: My lips 
are no common, though several they be 
(LLL, II, 1, 224), is thus explained by 



Halliwell: "Fields that were enclosed 
were called severals, in opposition to 
commons, the former belonging to in- 
dividuals, the others to the inhabitants 
generally." Rolfe prefers Staunton's 
explanation : " If we take both as places 
devoted to pasture — the one for general, 
the other for particular use — the mean- 
ing is easy enough. Boyet asks permis- 
sion to graze on her lips. ' Not so,' she 
answers ; ' my lips, though intended for 
the purpose, are not for general use.' " 
But it seems to me that this does 
not bring out so clearly the joke 
between several and common, cf. 
Sonn. CXXXVII, 9. See though. 

sewer. An officer whose duty originally 
was to taste the dishes placed on the 
royal table. Mcb. 1, 7, stage direction, 
line 2. 

'sfoot. Corrupted from (rOcZ's/ooi. Troil. 
II, 3, 6. See 'shlood. 

Sextus Pompeius, dr.p. A friend to 
Antony. Ant. 

Seyton, dr.p. Officer attending on Mac- 
beth. Mcb. 

Shadow, dr.p. One of Falstaff's recruits. 
2HIV. 

Shafalus. A blunder for Cephalus. Mids. 
V, 1, 200. See Cephalus. 

shaft. An arrow, i.e., the long arrow 
used with the long-bow, as distinguished 
from the short arrow, bolt or quarrel 
vised with the cross-bow. Mids. II, 1, 
161 ; Lr. I, 1, 145, and elsewhere. 

In regard to the passage in Merch. I, 
1, 140, Douce tells us that this method 
of finding a lost arrow is prescribed by 
P. Crescentius in his treatise " De 
Agricultura," lib. X, cap. XXVIII. 
For ril make a shaft or a holt onH, 
see holt. 

When the rich golden shaft (Tw. I, 
1, 35), is thus explained : Cupid carried 
two kinds of arrows or shafts ; one, with 
a golden head, inspired pure and deep 
love ; the other kind was headed with 
lead and produced indifference or aver- 
sion. See also Mids. I, 1, 170. See 
Cupid and holt. 

shales. Husks ; shells. HV. IV, 3, 18. , , 



SKA 



285 



SHE 



Shallow, 'Robert, dr. p. A country justice. 
Wiv. and2HIV. 

It is generally accepted that in Justice 
Shallow we have a caricature of Sir 
Thomas Lucy of Charlecote, near Strat- 
ford. The tradition is that, among his 
youthful escapades, Sh., with some other 
young fellows, killed some of Lucy's 
deer and for this Lucy had him severely 
punished. Sh., in revenge, is said to 
ha V e written a most bitter ballad against 
Lucy ; this led to further persecution, 
and it is alleged that this was the chief 
cause of Sh. leaving Stratford. At- 
tempts have been made to discredit the 
the whole story, but all authorities are 
agreed that there is a considerable basis 
of truth for the legend. See luce and 
prick, 

shall's. A contraction of shall us. An 
ungrammatical colloquialism. Cor. IV, 
6, 148. 

shard. 1. A shred; a fragment of pottery 
or potsherd. Hml. V, 1, 254. 
2. The "wing-case or elytron of a beetle. 
Ant. Ill, 2, 20. Steevens thus explains 
the line : They are his shards and he 
their beetle : " They are the wings that 
raise this heavy lumpish insect from 
the ground. " This involves an error in 
natural history. The wang-cases are 
not the members used by the beetle in 
flying ; the wings perform that function. 
The shards, wing-cases or elytra serve 
chiefly to protect the wings, which are 
delicate membranous parts that would 
be easily injured when the beetle entered 
holes, etc. It is quite possible, how- 
ever, that they may be used to give the 
beetle a first start from the ground. 
See shard-home. 

shard=borne. Upheld by shards or wing- 
cases. Mcb. Ill, 2, 43. This is probably 
an error, though a trifling one. See 
shard. Patterson, in his "Letters on 
the Natural History of the Insects 
Mentioned in Shakespeare's Plays," has 
this note on the subject : " These shards 
or wing-cases are raised and expanded 
[?] when the beetle flies, and by their 
concavity act like two parachutes in 



supporting him in the air. * * * [The 
other meaning] most applicable is that 
given by Mr. Toilet, as quoted in the 
notes to Ayscough's edition of Shak- 
speare, that 'shard-born beetle is the 
beetle born in cow-dung ; and that shard 
expresses dung is well known in the 
north of Staffordshire, where cow's 
shard is the word generally used for 
cow-dung.' * * * A long and very 
interesting note on the subject was 
published in the 'Zoological Journal,' 
No. XVIII, p. 147." 

It seems to me that by shard-borne 
Sh. undoubtedly meant, supported by 
shards or wing-cases. To the ordinary 
observer these wing-cases appear to be 
the wings themselves, and Sh. object 
was to make an impression upon minds 
to whom the droning beetle was a 
familiar sight. If Sh. had given a 
minute and accurate description of the 
flight of the beetle his audience would 
not have understood him and his words 
would' have fallen dead. 

sharded. Having wing-cases like beetles. 
Cym. Ill, 3, 20. 

shark. To snatch up without distinction 
as a shark does his prey. Hml. I, 1, 98. 

shealed. Shelled. Lr. I, 4, 219. 

she. This word is frequently used by Sh. 
as a noun. See Tw. I, 5, 259 ; Cym. I, 
3, 29 ; All's. II, 1, 82. But the passage 
in Wint. I, 2, 44, behind What Lady 
she her Lord, as it stands in the Fl., 
has made trouble for some coms., un- 
necessarily it seeins to me. Several eds. 
have even gone so far as to offer emend- 
ations. Collier and Dyce read should 
instead of she on the ground that " she " 
is a misprint for shd., the contracted 
form of should. Staunton hyplienates 
lady and she, and this has been adopted 
in the Globe ed., but not in the Cam- 
bridge ed. Keightley suggests lady 
soe''er, and Hudson, lady e'er. But it 
seems to me that all this is unnecessary. 
" Lady " is here an adjective and " she " 
a noun, just as in Wint. IV, 4, 360. No 
hyphen necessary. The meaning is 
obvious: "I love thee not a jar o' tho 



SHE 



a86 



SH9 



clock behind what any noble woman 
does her lord." And, as Furness well 
says : " We must doggedly adhere to 
the original text as long as it conveys 
any good and intelligible meaning." 
To which, however, I would add : Pro- 
vided that meaning is obviously the one 
which Sh. intended, and not one marred 
by an evident typographical error as in 
Wiv. V, 5, 159. 

shearman. One who shears cloth. 2HVI. 
IV, 2, 145. 

sheaved. Made of straw, Compl. 31. 

sheen, n. Light. Mids. II, 1, 29; Hml. 
Ill, 2, 167. 

Some, Johnson among others, make it 
an adjective = shining ; bright ; gay. 

sheep. This word was often pronounced 
ship in the time of Sh., and, indeed, 
this is still the pronunciation in some 
parts of England. Hence the puns in 
Gent. I, 1, 73 ; Err. IV, 1, 93 ; LLL. II, 
1, 219. 

sheep=biter. A cant term for a thief. 
Dyce. W. A. Wright says it is a term 
of reproach taken from a vicious dog. 
"It usually denotes a niggard. A dog 
that has once bitten or worried sheep be- 
comes so worthless and incorrigible that 
it has to be incontinently killed, or, as 
Taylor, the Water- Poet, says : 

And in some places I have heard and 

scene 
That currish sheep-biters have hanged 

been." 

Hence, like many such phrases, it came 
to be used as a general term of contempt 
equivalent to "cowardly cur." Dr. 
Furness quotes from Nashe's Pierce 
Penniless : " What curre will not 
bawle, and be ready to flye on a mans 
face, when he is set on by his master, 
who, if hee bee not by to encourage 
him, he casts his taile betwixt his legges, 
and steales away like a sheepe-byter." 
Tw. II, 5, 6. See sheep-biting. 
sheep=biting. The expression, show your 
sheep-biting face, as found in Meas. V, 
1, 359, is defined by Schm. as "morose, 
surly, malicious." But surely the duke 
showed himself anything but morose 



and surly, even to Lucio. The meaning 
here is undoubtedly cowardly and mean, 
as the duke seemed afraid to show his 
face. 

sheer. Clear ; pure ; unmixed. RII. V, 
3, 61. Also in Shr. Ind. II, 25, where 
the word has also been interpreted as 
"shire" — shire ale in this case being 
ale made in the shire or county. In 
some parts of England shire is still pro- 
nounced sheer. 

shent. Reproved harshly ; treated with 
rough language. Wiv. I, 4, 38 ; Troil. 
II, 3, 86 ; Hml. Ill, 2, 416. 

Shepherd. The epithet, Dead Shepherd, 
in As. Ill, 5, 82, refers to Marlowe, who 
was killed in a duel in 1593, aged 27 
years. The "saw of might" is from 
his Hero and Leander, published in 
1598, and the title " Shepherd " is taken 
from his famous poem, " The Passionate 
Shepherd to His Love." The saying, 
"saw of might," recalls Ben Jonson's 
well-known expression, "Marlowe's 
mighty line." 

sheriff's post. " At the doors of sheriffs 
were usually set up ornamented posts, 
on which royal and civic proclamations 
were fixed." Dyce. Tw. I, 5, 157. 

shield. 1. To protect. Lr. IV, 2, 67. 
2. To forbid; to avert. Meas. Ill, 1, 
141 ; Airs. I, 3, 174; Rom. IV, 1, 41. 

shift. To change. To shift his being = 
to change his dwelling. Cym. I, 5, 54. 

ship=tire. A particular kind of head- 
dress worn at that period. Wiv. Ill, 8, 
60. See tire. 

shive. A slice. Tit. 11,1,87. "'Tissafe 
taking a shive of a cut loaf " is a very 
old proverb. 

shoes. The expression over shoes, for 
moderately deep, occurs in Mids. Ill, 2, 
48, and Gent. I, 1, 24. In the latter 
passage it is contrasted with over boots, 
which is deeper yet. 

In John II, 1, 144, the word shows, of 
the g. a. text, reads shoes in the Fl. In 
the 3rd Var., Vol. XV, p. 229, the old 
reading is retained, and Steevens cites 
numerous passages to support it. The 
emendation is due to Theobald. The 



SHO 



387 



SHO 



very obvious meaning is, "As Hercules' 
hon's skin (the skin of the Wemean 
lion which he wore) shows upon the 
back of an ass." F. A. Marshall. See 
slipj^er. 

shoeing=horn. Awell-known toilet article; 
metaphorically, a subservient tool or 
instrument. In applying the term to 
Menelaus, Thersites, no doubt, had in 
mind the time-worn joke about horns 
and cuckolds. Troil. V, 1, 61. See 
transformation. 
shog. To move on. HV. II 1 47 
shoots. In Wint. I, 2, 128,' shoots evi- 
dently means the horns of the cuckold 
Henley (the old Sh. com.), in the 3rd 
Var. (1831), Vol. XIV, p. 249, thus 
paraphrases the words of Leontes : " To 
make thee a calf thou must have the 
tuft on thy forehead and the young 
horns that shoot up in it,* as I have " 
It has been objected that " he gives no 
authority for his explanation of ' pash ' 
by tuft.'' But he does not explain 
"pash " by tuft; the pash is the head 
(see pash) and the rough pash which 
Leontes speaks of is a pash with a tuft 
of hair such as usually grows on the 
head of a young bull. See also Ad- 
denda, s.v. pash. 
Shootie. The name of Master Shooty 
the great traveller, as it reads in the 
g. a. text (Meas.IV, 3, 18), is "Shootie" 
m the Fl., and it has been suggested 
that It is a sort of pun on shoe tie 
Warburton reads Shooter, and the 3rd 
Var. and some others Shoe-tie. See 
Sure-card. 
shot. 1. Range; reach. Tit. II 1 2 • 
Hml. I, 3, 35. ' ' ' 

2. In 2HIV. Ill, 2, 395, shot "is used for 
shooter, one who is to fight by shooting ' ' 
Johnson. At the present day it is in 
common use as a synonym for marks- 
man, but in Sh. time it was equivalent 
to musketeer, as in IHVI. I, 4, 53, and 
HVIII. V, 4, 59. This was the meaning 
among writers of the time as quoted by 
Steevens and Malone. Thus in Stowe's 
" Annales," speaking of a body of men, 
he says: "the greater part whereof were 



shot, and the other were pikes and 
halberts in faire corslets." 
3. A tavern reckoning or one's share 
thereof. Gent. II, 5, 7; Cym. V, 4, 158 
'The literal sense is ' contribution, ''that 
which IS ' shot ' into the general fund." 
Skeat. In IHIV. V, 3, 30, there is a 
pun upon the two meanings of the word 
—a tavern reckoning and also a missile 
discharged from a gun. 
shotten herring. One that has shed its 
roe and is consequently lank and lean. 
Coioden Clarke. Hunter makes it "a 
herring gutted and dried." Clarke's 
definition is probably correct IHIV 
II, 4, 145. 

^ ni^l'94'^ kind of shaggy dog. Mcb. 

shoulder. The word itself requires no 
explanation, but some of the passages 
in which it occurs have called forth 
comment. 

In As IV, 1, 48, Cupid hath clapt 
htm o the shoulder, but Fll warrant 
him heart-whole, has been explained in 
two ways : (1) to clap on the shoulder in 
token of friendly encouragement, as in 
T "^1 ^' 1' 261;LLL. V, 3, 107, and 
Troil. Ill 3, 138; and (3) to arrest, as 
m Cym. V, 3, 78, and Err. IV, 2, 37 
bchm. and some others prefer the latter 
explanation, but Purness thinks that 
on the whole, the former interpreta- 
tion seems preferable." Ifcappearsso to 
me. h urness seeuas to think that "there 
IS colour for [Schmidt's] preference in 
the use of the word 'warrant' im- 
mediately following. " But " warrant " 
here is not a writ of attachment, but a 
verbal guarantee, and if Cupid had 
attached the supposed delinquent lover 
by way of arrest, there would have been 
no escape for him. He would not have 
remained "heart-whole." Verity ("The 
Henry Irving Shakespeare") explains 
the expression as "lightly touched." 

Othello's description of men wliose 
heads Do groiv beneath their shoulders 
was, no doubt, taken from Sir John 
Mandeville's account of his travels in 
which he tells us that "in another Yle 



SHO 



288 



SIB 



toward the South, duellen folk of foule 
Stature and of cursed kynde, than have 
no Hedes ; and here Eyen ben in here 
Scholdres." This seems to have im- 
pressed itself upon the people of Sh. 
time, for it is alluded to again in Tp. 
Ill, 3, 47. 

shoulder, v. To push with violence ; to 
displace. IHVI. IV, 1, 189 ; RIII. Ill, 
7, 128. 

sfaoulder^shotten. Sprained ; dislocated 
in the shoulder. Shr. Ill, 2, 56. 

shove=groat shilling. A smooth shilling 
used in the game of shove-groat. 3HIV. 
II, 4, 205. 

At first the game was played with the 
silver groats of the time, then nearly as 
large as modern shillings. When the 
broad shillings of Edward VI were 
coined they were substituted for the 
groats in this game. See Edward 
shovel-boards. 

shovel. To throw with a shovel. In 
Wint. IV, 4, 471, the metre requires 
that this word should have the Scottish 
or old English pronunciation — shool. 
The spelling in the Fl. is shouel, but 
this is of no weight, as the u was gener- 
ally substituted for v under certain con- 
ditions, as in aduenture in line 472. I 
think it very probable that if Sh. him- 
self were to appear on an English or 
American stage in one of his own plays, 
none but educated Scotchmen would be 
able to understand him. See priest. 

Dr. Furness seems to appreciate this, 
and in his recent volumes gives more 
and more attention to the Scottish 
language as found in Sh. And there is 
yet room. See silly. 

shovel=board. Steevens seems to imply 
that shove-groat and shovel-board were 
the same, but Douce claims that they 
were different. The game consisted in 
shoving or sliding smooth pieces of 
metal (groats or shillings) so as to land 
them near certain marks on a smooth 
board. Wiv. I, 1, 159. See Strutt's 
*' Sports and Pastimes," and Douce's 
"Illustrations of Shakespeare." 

Showed. Appeared. In Mcb. I, 2, 15, 



the meaning is that Fortune, while she 

smiled on him, deceived him. Malone. 
shrewd. 1. Bad; mischievous. Wiv. II, 

2, 233 ; Meas. II, 1, 263 ; Shr. I, 1, 185 ; 

John. V, 5, 14; RII. Ill, 2, 59; 2HIV. 

II, 4, 228. 
2. Cunning; artful. Mids. II, 1, 38; 

Troil. I, 2, 206. 
shrewdly. To a great and mischievous 

extent ; mischievously. Ado. II, 1, 84 ; 

All's. Ill, 5, 91 ; HV. Ill, 7, 52 ; do. 163; 

Hml. I, 4, 1. 
shrieve. A sheriff. AU's. IV, 8, 218; 

2HIV. IV, 4, 99. 
shriving=time. Opportunity or time for 

confession and repentance. Hml. V, 2, 47. 
shroud. To cover ; to take shelter. Tp. 

II, 2, 42 ; LLL. IV, 3, 137. 

shrow. A shrew (a mere variation in 
spelling, like sew and sow). LLL. V, 
2, 46. 

shrowd, n. Shelter ; protection. Ant. 

III, 13, 71. 

Shylock, dr.p. A Jew. Merch. 

sib. Related by blood ; nearly akin. 
(Scotch.) Kins. I, 2, 72. See gossip. 

Sibyl. The name by which several pro- 
phetic women are designated. The first 
Sibyl, from whom all the rest are said 
to have derived their name, is called a 
daughter of Dardanus and Neso. They 
are generally described as of great age 
(0th. Ill, 4, 70), and their number is 
variously stated at from four to ten. 
The most famous of the Sibyls was the 
Cumgean, who guided ^neas into Hades. 
She is said to have come to Italy from the 
East, and she is the one who, according 
to tradition, appeared before Tarquinius 
Superbus, the last king of Rome, with 
nine books containing the Roman des- 
tinies, which she offered him for three 
hundred pieces of gold. The king re- 
fused the offer, thinking the price too 
high, whereupon the Sibyl burnt three 
of the books and demanded the same 
price for the remaining six. The king 
again refused, and again she departed 
and burnt three of the books, and on 
her return again demanded the same 
price for the remaining three books. 



SIC 



SII 



Tarquin consulted the pontiffs, and by 
their advice paid the three hundred gold 
pieces for the three books that were 
left. These books were kept with great 
care at Rome ; they were called the 
Sibylline Books, and two magistrates 
were appointed to consult them in every 
crisis. In IHVI. I, 2, 56, the number 
of Sibyls is given as nine ; as the num- 
ber of the Sibyls is nowhere given as 
nine, it is supposed that in this case Sh. 
has made the mistake of giving the 
number of Sibylline Books for the num- 
ber of the Sibyls. 

sides. Shekels. Meas. II, 2, 149. ~^^ 

Sicinius Velutus, dr.p. Tribune of the 
people. Cor. 

side=sleeves. Loose, hanging sleeves (in 
some eds. not hyphenated). Ado. Ill, 
4,21. 

Siege. 1. Seat. Meas. IV, 2, 101. 

2. Rank ; degree ; place. Hnil. IV, 7, 
77 ; 0th. I, 2, 22. 

This use of the word is derived from 
definition 1, because people sat at table 
and elsewhere in order of precedence. 

3. Excrement; faecal matter. Tp. II, 
2, 110. 

The use of the word in this sense is 
far-fetched, but very obvious. See 3rd 
Var., Vol. XV, p. 100. 
sieve. In most passages (Ado. V, 1, 5 ; 
Airs. 1, 3, 208 ; Mcb. I, 3, 8), the ordinary 
sifter or sieve is meant. In this form 
the holes with which the bottom is per- 
forated, allow water and fine powders 
to pass through freely. But there was 
another vessel, also called a sieve and 
made in the form of a sieve, but with 
a closely woven bottom. Such sieves 
were and are used for carrying and 
measuring grain, etc. , and were used in 
former times to receive the refuse of 
the table. This is undoubtedly the 
article alluded to in Troil. II, 2, 71. 
Such sieves or flat-bottomed baskets 
when used at table were called voiders. 
The reading in the Quarto is sine, a 
common form in old books for " sive '' or 
"sieve." The Fl. reads sa?ne ; the other 
Folios, place, and DeUus, sink^ a Grer- 



man emendation which looks very much 
like a technological anachronism. 
sighted. Having eyes. Wint. I, 2, 388. 
sightless. 1. Invisible. Mcb. I, 5, 50. 

2. Unsightly; offensive. John III, 1, 45. 

sights. The perforated part of their 

helmets, through which they could see 

to direct their aim. Steevens. 2HIV. 

IV, 1, 131. 

sign. 1. To mark ; to denote. John IV, 

2, 222 ; HVIII. II, 4, 108 ; Cses. Ill, 1, 206. 

2. To be an omen. Ant. IV, 3, 14. 

Silence, dr.p. A country justice, cousin 

-to Justice Shallow. 2HIV. 
Silius, dr.p. An ofiicer of Ventidius's 

army. Ant. 
silken point. A tagged lace used for 
supporting the hose and other parts of 
the dress. 2HIV. I, 1, 54. Here evi- 
dently equivalent to " a trifling matter. " 
silly. Skeat tells us that this " word has 
much changed its meaning. It meant 
timely; then lucky, happy, blessed, 
innocent, simple, foolish." The old 
form was seely or sely, and that it also 
bore the meaning of poor, trifling, weak, 
both as to intellectual and material 
things, can easily be shown. Thus, in 
the " Travels " of Sir John Mandeville 
we find, ' ' to apparay He with our Bodyes, 
we usen a sely litylle clout." And in 
Spenser's Sonn. LXIII, the word occurs 
in the same sense : 

After long storms * * * 
In dread of death and dangerous dis- 
may, 
With which my silly bark was tossed 

sore, 
I do at length descry the happy shore. 

And in Burns's lines " To a Mouse " he 

says : 

Thy wee bit * housie too in ruinl 
Its silly wa'st the win"s are strewin. 

The word is now used almost wholly 
in the sense of foolish or weak-minded, 

* These words were hyphenated in the 
first ed. of Burns's poems, but not in 
the Edinburgh ed., pubUshed under the 
poet's supervision, and- not in the best 
subsequent eds, 

t Walls. 



SIL 



290 



SIL 



but by Sh. it is used with a variety of 
meanings. Schmidt, in his "Lexicon," 
notes the following : 

1. "Harmless, innocent, helpless." In 
some of his instances, as Lucr. 167, it 
may bear this meaning, but in 8HVI. 
I, 1, 243, and Gent. IV, 1, 72, the word 
weak would be a closer synonym. 

2. " Plain, simple. " That the word has 
this meaning in Tw. II, 4, 47 {cf. silly- 
sooth) is no doubt correct, but surely 
this is not the meaning in IHVI. IV, 7, 
7'2 : Here is a silly stately style indeed, 
for this would be a contradiction in 
terms. If we make silly = foolish in 
this passage, I think we get nearer to 
the true sense. And it certainly is not 
the meaning in Wint. IV, 3, 28. See 
silly cheat. Again : As found in Cym. 
V, 3, 86 : There was a fourth man, in 
a silly habit. That gave the affront 
ivith them, Schm. gloss— " plain, simple" 
— robs the British captain's speech of 
its entire point and force. Steevens 
explained the word here as "simple or 
rustick, ' ' and in this he has been followed 
by most coms. Malone's note on this 
passage is as follows : " So in the novel 
of Boccace, on which this play is formed: 
*The servant, who had no great good 
will to kill her, very easily grew pitifull, 
took off her upper garment, and gave 
her a poore ragged doublet, a silly 
chapperone, etc' 'The Decameron,' 
1620. ' ' But Sh. could not hav e obtained 
the expression from this book, which 
did not appear until many years after 
Cymbeline had been placed upon the 
stage. And even here "simple or 
rustic " does not seem to give the true 
sense. A ' ' poore ragged doublet ' ' would 
be one that was weak to defend from 
the weather, and this is evidently just 
what is meant. In Cym. V, 3, 86, pre- 
cisely as in the lines quoted from Burns, 
the word means physically or materially 
weak — incapable of resisting spear- 
thrust or sword-cut. It was a grand 
and emphatic testimony to the bravery 
and skill of Posthumus that, without 
armour, "in a siUy habit," he should 



have fought with the steel-clad Roman 
soldiers and overcome them. It calls to 
mind the song of " The Bloody Vest " in 
Scott's "Talisman," where the hero at 
his lady's behest exchanged 

A hauberk of steel for a kirtle of 

thread 
And charged, thus attired, in the 
tournament dread, 
acquitting himself with such credit as 
to deserve the praises of minstrels and 
the hand of the princess. 

But to make silly mean "plain," 
"simple," or "rustic" takes the very 
life out of this noble tribute to the 
chivalrous daring of Posthumus. 

3. Schmidt's third class is defined as 
"poor (a) as a term of pity (6) as a term 
of contempt," and afterwards he gives 
examples in which it is equivalent to 
"simple, witless, foolish." But in most 
of the passages cited in this class, the 
nearest equivalents are probably foolish 
and weak. 

Bearing these points in mind, the 
reader will find no difficulty in extract- 
ing the ti'ue sense from any passage in 
which the word occurs. 
silly cheat. Of this phrase, as found in 
Wint. IV, 3, 28 ("silly Cheate" in the 
Fl.), Furness says: "Neither 'silly* 
nor ' cheat ' is difficult of comprehension, 
nor is any difficulty added when they 
are combined." Certainly not if, in 
the first place, we manage to get the 
right meaning of the separate words. 
Dr. Furness does not attempt to tell us 
what that meaning is, evidently think- 
ing that the words are too simple to 
need explanation, and the ordinary dic- 
tionaries, even the large ones, give us 
no special information on the point. 

Hanmer felt so puzzled over the ex- 
pression that he suggested an emend- 
ment : sly for silly ; for this Warburton 
took him severely to task, saying that 
"silly means simple, low, mean," and 
implying that the combination was 
merely another mode of saying that he 
(Autolycus) was "a snapper -up of 
unconsidered trifles." Steevens says: 



StL 



291 



siir 



" The silly cheat is one of the technical 
terms belonging to the art of coney- 
catching or thievery, which Greene has 
mentioned, among the rest, in his 
treatise on that ancient and honorable 
science. I think it means picking 
pockets.'''' But Furness says: "As a 
' technical term ' I have not noted it in 
Greene." Schm., followed by Rolfe, 
defines it as " petty thievery." 

Any one of these explanations makes 
very good sense, but does it give the 
meaning that Sh. had in view ? Autoly- 
cus was supposed to be an adept in 
slang; now, in slang, "cheat" or 
*'chete" means a thing or person, e.g., 
grunting-cheat = a pig ; lullaby-cheat 
= a baby. This word, or affix rather, 
is found in the earliest rogue's lexicon, 
that by Harman, published in 1566. So 
that silly-cheat would mean a foolish 
person, and this, I think, is the mean- 
ing of the words here. 

It may be objected to this that Auto- 
lycus says that his reveyiue is the silly 
cheat, and the strict sense of revenue is 
income. But the word was sometimes 
used for the source of the income as 
well as for the income itself, a sort of 
metonymy which is not uncommon in 
Sh. cf. Tp. I, 1, 98. See silly. 

silly sooth. Plain, simple truth. John- 
son. See sooth. 

Silvia, dr. p. Daughter to the Duke of 
Milan. Gent. 

Simonides, dr.p. King of Pentapolis. 
Per. 

Simpcox, dr.p. An impostor. 2HVI. 

Simple, dr.p. Servant to Slender. Wiv. 

simple, n. A medicinal herb. Wiv. I, 
4, 65 ; Rom. V, 1, 40. 

simple, adj. Foolish ; silly. Gent. II, 1, 
38 ; Horn. II, 5, 38 ; Hml. I, 2, 97. 

simular. Counterfeit ; false ; hypocritical. 
Lr. Ill, 2, 54; Gym. V, 5, 200. 

single. Simple ; silly ; weak. 2HIV. I, 
2, 207 ; Cor. II, 1, 40 ; Mcb. I, 3, 140. 
See double. 

singleness. Silliness ; simplicity. Rom. 
II, 4, 73. In Sonn. VIII, 8, it means 
the state of "single blessedness." 



single=soled. Threadbare ; weak ; foolish. 
Rom. II, 4, 72. There is here an obvious 
pun upon single sole and single soul. 
The meaning of the word as it was 
understood in Sh. time is very fully 
settled. Cotgrave, s. v. " Relief " has : 
" Bas relief. Gentilhome de bas relief. 
A thred-bare or single-soled Gentle- 
man; a Gentleman of low degree.'''' 
Furness and the 3rd Var. give numerous 
examples of its use in this sense. 

singularity. 1. Peculiarity; distinction. 
Tw. 11,5, 164; Cor. 1,1,282. 
2. A rarity ; a curio. Wint. V, 3, 11. 

sinister. Left. Bight and sinister = 
right and left. Mids. V, 1, 162. Wright 
says Snout uses this word for two 
reasons: "first, because it is a long 
word, and then because it gives a sort 
of rhyme to whisper." 

sink=a°pace. A corruption of cinque- 
pace {q. V). Tw. I, 3, 139. 

In Ado. II, 1,'82, there is an evident 
pun between cinque-pace and sink-a- 
pace. Beatrice says : falls into the 
cinque-pace faster and faster, till he 
sink into his grave. Collier's MS. cor- 
rector emended to '•'• sink a-pace into his 
grave. ' ' This Halli well calls ' ' an alter- 
ation of singular ingenuity," and even 
Dyce, an avowed enemy of Collier, says : 
"There is no denying that, in this 
instance at least, Mr. Collier's MS. cor- 
rector has drawn on his invention with 
considerable success." Furness says: 
" The chief est objection to Collier's text, 
apart from its lack of authority, is to 
me, its obviousness ; the play upon 
words is amply evident without it." 
Yes, when the play is read at leisure by 
cultivated persons; but Sh. wrote for 
the multitude whom he wished to 
attract to his theatre, and many of his 
puns are very obvious. 

sinking^ripe. See ripe. 

Sinon. According to Virgil, he was a 
grandson of Autolycus and a kinsman 
of Ulysses whom he accompanied to 
Troy. Tradition relates that he allowed 
himself to be taken prisoner by the 
Trojans, after he had mutilated himself 



SIN 



292 



SIB 



in such a manner as to make them 
believe that he had been illtreated by 
the Greeks. He told the Trojans that 
he was hated by Ulysses and had been 
selected by him to be saci'iflced, because 
Apollo had ordered a human sacrifice 
to be offered that the Greeks might 
safely depart from the coast of Troy, 
and, he added, that he had escaped 
death by flight. When he was asked 
what was the purport of the wooden 
horse, he told them that it had been 
constructed as an atonement for the 
Palladium which had been carried off:. 
For the rest of the story see horse, 
07ninous. 3HVI. Ill, 2, 190 ; Gym. Ill, 
4,61. 

sins. The seven deadly sins referred to 
in Meas. Ill, 1, 111, are pride, envy, 
wrath, sloth, covetousness, gluttony, 
lechery. Dyce. 

sir. 1. Used in a sense corresponding to 
she, q.v. Thus in Gym. V, 5, 145, a 
nobler sir ne''er lived. 

2. "A title formerly applied to priests 
and curates in general ; for this reason : 
dominus, the academical title of a 
bachelor of arts, was usually rendered 
by sir in English at the universities ; 
so that a bachelor, who in the books 
stood Dominus Brown, was in conver- 
sation called Sir Brown. This was in 
use in some colleges even in my memory. 
Therefore, as most clerical persons had 
taken that first degree, it became usual 
to style them sir. ' ' Nares. 

3. A gallant; a courtier. To play the 
sir = to act the gallant. 0th. II, 1, 176. 

Siren. In Sh. tiiiie the terms siren and 
7nermaid seem to have been synonym- 
ous. In the old mythology the Sirens 
were sea-nymphs who, by their singing, 
fascinated those who sailed past their 
island, and enticed sailors to throw 
themselves into the sea. The number 
is variously stated at two, three or more. 
Homer tells us that Ulysses, forewarned 
by Girce, stopped the ears of his crew 
with wax so. that they might pass the 
isles of the Sirens with safety. He 
himself wisk«d to hear their song, so he 



caused the sailors to tie him to the mast, 
with strict injunctions not to untie him, 
however strongly he might plead or 
command, until they had passed the 
isle of the enchantresses. When the 
Argonauts passed by the Sirens, the 
latter began to sing, but in vain, for 
Orpheus rivalled and surpassed them ; 
and as it had been decreed that they 
should live only until some one hearing 
their song should pass by unmoved, 
they threw themselves into the sea and 
were metamorphosed into rocks. 

It is said that the Sirens were origin- 
ally the attendants of Proserpina, and 
when their mistress was carried off by 
Pluto they were metamorphosed into 
birds, some say at their own request, 
that they might fly over the sea in 
search of Proserpina, while others say 
that Geres so transformed them as a 
punishment for not having guarded 
their mistress more faithfully. They 
were deprived of their wings because 
they had the presumption to challenge 
the Muses to a singing contest. 

In woi'ks of art they are represented 
as having the head, arms and generally 
the bust of a young woman, and the 
wings and lower part of the body, or 
sometimes only the feet, of a bii'd. 
Sonn. GXIX, 1 ; Err. Ill, 2, 47 ; Tit. 
II, 1, 23. 
sir reverence. A corruption of save- 
reverence (salva revei-entia) an old 
formula of apology for introducing any 
too free or indelicate expression. It 
was considered a sufficient apology for 
anything indecorous. It corresponds to 
the vulgar formula, saving your pre- 
sence. In Err. Ill, 2, 93, Droniio of S. 
evidently wishes to suggest that he 
could not speak of the fat cook without 
using words unfit for ears polite. In 
Rom. I, 4, 42, the Fl. reads, Or saue 
your reuerence loue; the g. a. text. Of 
this sir-reverence love, which Knight 
explains thus: "Mercutio saj^s he will 
draw Romeo from the ' mire of this 
love,' and uses, parenthetically, the 
ordinary form of apology for speaking 



SIS 



293 



SKI 



so profanely of love." He then gives 
quotations illustrating the use of the 
phrase. Gifford, referring to this ex- 
pression, says : " An allusion to the 
good old custom of apologizing for the 
introduction of a free expression, by 
bowing to the principal person in com- 
pany and saying : ' Sir, with reverence, ' 
or 'Sir, reverence.'" In Ado. Ill, 4, 
32, Margaret twits w^hat she thinks is 
Hero's prudishness by suggesting that 
she should use this phrase in speaking 
of a husband. 

sister, v. To resemble closely. Per. V, 
Prol. 7. 

sistering. Neighboring. Compl. 2. 

sith. Since. Hml. II, 2, 12. 

sithence. Since. Cor. Ill, 1, 47 ; All's. 

I, 3, 124. 

Siward, dr.p. Earl of Northumberland, 
general of the English forces. Mcb. 
See Macbeth. 

Siward, Young, dr. p. Son to Siward. 
Mcb. 

sizes. Settled portions or allowances. Lr. 

II, 4, 178. 

From this comes the word sizar, the 
name given to a poor college student, 
from the sizes or allowances given to 
him. 
skains=mates. An expression which has 
never been clearly explained. Malone 
made it " cut-throat " companions, and 
Steevens has a long note explaining that 
shein or skain is a knife or short dagger, 
and that by skains-mates the nurse 
meant his loose companions who fre- 
quented the fencing-school with him. 
(3rd Var., Vol. VI, p. 109.) That skeen 
or skein means a knife is true, but 
irrelevant, as it would be difficult to 
imagine the old nurse going with a lot 
of young bloods to a fencing school. 
Dyce thought the meaning remained to 
be discovered, but accepted Staunton's 
explanation, which is : " The word skain, 
I am told by a Kentish man, was for- 
merly a familiar term in parts of Kent 
to express what we now call a scape- 
grace or ne'er-do-well ; just the sort of 
person the worthy old Nurse would 



entertain a horror of being considered 
a companion [or mate] to." Rom. II, 
4, 162. Douce supposes that sem^sf?'esse6' 
is meant, from '* skein " of thread, and 
Dowden thinks this not improbable, for 
sempsters (fem.) had an ill-repute. 
skill. 1. Cunning. Wint. II, 1, 166. 
2. Reason; motive. Wint. IV, 4, 152. 
To this explanation, first offered by 
Warburton, Mason and some others 
objected that there was no example of 
its use in this sense, but Halliwell and 
Dyce bring forward several instances. 
Thus, in "The Voiage and Travaile " 
of Sir John Maundeville, we find : ' ' For 
in that desert is fulle gret defaute of 
watre : and often time it fallethe, that 
where men fynden watre at o tyme in 
a place, it faylethe another tyme. And 
for that skylle, thei make none habita- 
ciouns there. " And in Warner's ' ' Con- 
tinuance of Albions England " (1606) 
are the lines : 

Hence Englands heires apparant haue 

of Wales bin princes, till 
Our queene deceast concealed her 

heire, I wot not for what skill. 

skill, V. To be of importance ; to signify ; 
to matter. Shr. Ill, 2, 134 ; T w. V, 1, 295 ; 
2HVI. Ill, 1, 281. 

skilless. Ignorant ; unacquainted with. 
Tp. Ill, 1, 53; Troil. I, 1, 12; Tw. 
Ill, 3, 9. 

skillet. A small iron pot, generally made 
with three feet. 0th. I, 3, 274. 

skimble-skamble. Wandering; disjointed; 
confused. IHIV. Ill, 1, 154. 

skin. The expression, holiest as the skin 
betiveen his brows (Ado. Ill, 5, 13), seems 
to have been a common saying. It 
occurs twice in Gammer Gurton''s 
Needle (1551). Furness makes the very 
ingenious suggestion that the phrase 
may have arisen "from the fact that 
it was on the forehead that the brand 
of shameful conduct was set." Conse- 
quently, an unbranded brow would 
denote honesty. This is a better ex- 
planation than can be found for most 
phrases of the kind. See hawk. 
The saying of the clown in All's. II, 



SKI 



294 



SLE 



2, 29, as fit * * * as the pudding 
to his skin, is easily understood when 
we remember the old practice of filling 
the emptied and cleansed intestines of 
pigs and sheep with pudding-stuff, just 
as we now fill them with sausage-meat. 
In Sh. x>udding often means intestine, 
as in Wiv. II, 1, 32. The original 
meaning of pudding was simply a bag, 
afterwards applied to the material with 
which the bag was filled. 

skinker. A drawer of liquor ; a tapster. 
IHIV. II, 4, 26. 

skipper. A thoughtless fellow. Shr. II, 
1, 333. 

skirr. To scour ; to move rapidly. HV. 
IV, 7, 64 ; Mcb. V, 3, 35. 

slab. Slimy ; glutinous. Mcb. IV, 1, 32. 

slack. To neglect. Lr. II, 4, 248 ; 0th. 

. IV, 3, 88. 

The expression in Rom. IV, 1, 3, / 
am nothing slow to slack his haste, 
seems, at first sight, to convey a mean- 
ing directly opposite to that intended. 
Malone explains it as : " There is nothing 
of slowness in me to induce me to 
slacken or abate his haste." Knight 
makes it: "I am nothing slow (so as) 
to slack his haste." This Dowden thinks 
is the right explanation. 

slander. 1. Disgrace; reproach. RIII. 
I, 3, 231. 
2. Ill report ; bad name. Cym. I, 1, 71. 

slanderous cuckoo. By some explained 
as "because supposed to tell tales of 
unfaithful wives." But if the wives 
were unfaithful, the tales would not be 
slanderous. Probably it means that the 
cuckoo accuses all alike, the good and 
the bad, and consequently slanders many 
virtuous women. Kins. I, 1, 19. See 
cuckoo. 

slave. To turn to base or slavish uses. 
Lr. IV, 1, 71. 

sleave, ) Floss silk. Troil. V, 1, 35 ; 

sleave silk. ) Mcb. II, 2, 38. ^eesleided. 

sledded. This word occurs but once in 
Sh. and the corns, are divided as to 
whether it means seated in a sled or 
sledge, or provided with a sledge or 
hammer. It is an unusual word, and 



the only instance of its use, given in 
the dictionaries, is this passage. The 
letters s-1-e-d-g-e represent, not one 
word with two different meanings, but 
two entirely different words, having 
entirely different origins, and whose 
spelling and pronunciation are the same 
merely by accident. That this is the 
case with several words in common use 
is well known (see 2^^^9'^^ct'^i ^^^d salt 
3), and it has given rise to some con- 
fusion when not taken fully into con- 
sideration. Sledge, meaning a vehicle, 
is derived from the same Teutonic base 
as slide, and conveys the idea of sliding ; 
sledge, a hammer, comes from the 
Anglo-saxon slecge, a hammer. The 
inflections, etc., of both words are now 
the same. 

Whether we shall adopt the vehicle 
or the hammer gloss for the word under 
consideration must depend upon the 
meaning given to "Pollax," which it 
qualifies in Hml. I, 1, 63. See Pollax, 
where the subject is treated exten- 
sively. 

Various emendations of sledded have 
been proposed, but all futile. Sleaded, 
Rochester; leaded, Moltke; sturdie, 
Leo, are not needed. If Polanders, 
seated in sledges or sleds, are meant, 
then sledded is the proper word, and its 
meaning is obvious. If "Pollax" means 
a pole-axe, then sledded, i.e., furnished 
with a sledge or hammer, is equally 
appropriate, and no emendation is re- 
quired. 
sleeve=hand. A wrist-band or cuff. Wint. 

IV, 4, 212. 

sleeveless. Useless; unprofitable. Troil. 

V, 4, 9. 

" I suspect that sleeveless, which has 
puzzled etymologists, is that which can- 
not be sleaved, sleided or unravelled; 
and therefore useless : thus, a sleeveless 
errand would be a fruitless one." 
Singer. 
sleided. Untwisted silk prepared to be 
used in the weaver's sley or slay is said 
to be sleided. Troil. V, 1, 35 ; Per. IV, 
Prol. 21 ; Compi. 48. In the latter pass- 



SLE 



295 



SLU 



age reference is made to the practice of 
tying up letters with sleided or floss 
silk, the ends of which were fastened 
with seals, 

sleight. An artifice ; a trick. 3HVI. IV, 
2, 20 ; Mcb, III, 5, 26. 

Slender, dr.jJ. Cousin to Justice Shallow. 
Wiv. The word is slang for "country 
gentleman." 

slice. This word, as it occurs in Wiv. I, 
1, 134, is usually defined as a mere in- 
terjection and consequently meaning- 
less. Schm. gives the common defini- 
tion (a thin piece cut off), and then says : 
' ' A term applied to Mr. Slender by 
Nym, " intending, we suppose, that Nym 
is chaffing or guying Slender on his 
thin, lank appeai-ance. But is it not 
more probable that Nj'^m uses the word 
in the sense of "cut it shoi't " ; "shut 
up," or, as modern slang has it, " cheese 
it"? 

'slid. Said to be a mincing contraction 
of "God's lid," the meaning of which 
is not very clear. Some say it means 
"Grod's eyelid" and refer us to Acts 
xvii, 30, Schm. says: "A mean oath 
used by such persons as Mr. Slender and 
Sir Andrew." Probably in common 
use and no meaner than ^sblood or 
''slight, or any "pretty oaths that are 
not dangerous." (As. IV, 1, 192.) Wiv. 
Ill, 4, 24 ; Tw. Ill, 4, 427. It is God's 
lid in Troil. I, 2, 228. See 'shlood. 

'slight. A minced oath. Nares saj^s it 
is " a contracted form of ' by this light,' 
a familiar asseveration." In this he 
is followed by some coms. who seem 
anxious to soften the coarseness of the 
real origin, which is undoubtedly "God's 
light," just as in the case of ^sblood, 
''swounds {q. v). Some even go so far 
as to make ''slid = by this light, but cf. 
Troil. I, 2, 228, where the uncontracted 
form is given "flat-footed," if we may 
be pardoned a slang, but expressive, 
phrase. If these expressions are ob- 
jectionable, leave them out, but do not 
misstate the facts. 

slip. 1. A leash; a kind of noose in which 
greyhounds are held before they are 



allowed to start for the game. So called 
because by slip2oing one part the dog is 
set free. HV. Ill, 1, 31. 
2. A piece of false money. Ven. 51.5 ; 
Rom. II, 4, 51 (punning), cf. Troil. II, 
3,27. 

slipper, adj. Slippery. 0th. II, 1, 246. 

slippers. The passage in John IV, 2, 197, 
which his nimble haste had falsely 
thrust upon contrary feet, called forth 
the following curious note from Dr. 
Johnson: "I know not how the com- 
mentators understand this important 
passage, which, in Dr. Warburton's 
edition, is marked as eminently beauti- 
ful and, on the whole, not without 
justice. But Shakespeare seems to have 
confounded the man's shoes with his 
gloves. He that is frighted or hurried 
may put his hand into the wrong glove, 
but either shoe will equally admit either 
foot. The author seems to be disturbed 
by the disorder which he describes." 
Johnson's Edition (1765), Vol. Ill, p. 475. 
The 3rd. Var., Vol. XV, p. 325, contains 
a page and a half of explanatory notes 
on this passage, prefaced by the follow- 
ing from Bos well : " The following notes 
afford a curious specimen of the diffi- 
culties which may arise from the fluc- 
tuations of fashion. What has called 
forth the antiquarian knowledge of so 
many learned commentators is again 
become the common practice at this 
day." That is to say, in 1765 shoes 
were not made rights and lefts ; in 1821 
they were so made, and thus the whirli- 
gig of time biHngs in his revenges, 
which are sometimes very amusing. 

sliver. To break or tear off. Mcb. IV, 

I, 28 ; Lr. IV, 2, 34. 

This is a common word on this side of 

the Atlantic, though English coms. 

seem to think it necessary to explain it. 
slobbery, adj. Wet ; sloppy ; flooded. 

HV. Ill, 5, 13. 
slops. Large, loose trousers or breeches. 

Ado. Ill, 2, 36; 2HIV. I, 2, 34; Rom. 

II, 4, 47. 

slubber. 1. To soil; to sully. 0th. I, 3, 
227. cf. beslubber. 



SLTJ 



296 



SNO 



2. To slur over ; to do carelessly. Mercb. 

II, 8, 39. 

sluttish spoils. Johnson explains sluttish 
spoils of opportunity (Troil, IV, 5, 62) 
as " corrupt wenches, of whose chastity 
every opportunity may make a prey." 

Sly, Christopher, dr. p. A drunken tinker. 
Shr. Ind. 

smack. A smattering. All's. IV, 1, 18. 

small. Not loud, but high-toned and 
clear. Cor. Ill, 2, 114; Tw. I, 4, 33. 
cf. quill. 

smatch. Smack ; taste. Cses. V, 5, 46. 

smatter. To prate ; to chatter. Rom. 

III, 5, 172. 

smilet. Diminutive of smile. Lr. IV, 3, 21. 

Smith the Weaver, dr. p. A follower of 
Jack Cade. 2HVI. 

smoke. The passage in Ado. I, 3, 61, as 
I was smoking a inusty room, sounds 
queerly to modern ears. But in the 
time of Sh. the practice of fumigating 
rooms for " the swetynynge of the 
house " (Sir John Fuckering's directions 
to his steward) was quite common. 
Burton, in his " Anatomy of Melan- 
choly," tells us that "the smoake of 
juniper is in great request with us at 
Oxford, to sweeten our chambers." 3rd 
Var., Vol. VII, p. 32. 

After quoting various notes on this 
passage, Dr. Furness, in his elaborate 
ed. of Ado., makes the following re- 
mark : "It has been noted (first, I 
think, by Thornbury ; but I speak under 
correction) that Shakespeare nowhere 
alludes to tobacco. It is clear that 
those who make this claim did not read 
their Shakespeare in either Rowe's 
Second Edition or in Pope, where 
Borachio is made to say that he was 
'smoking in a musty room." This is 
a capital hit at super - serviceable 
emendators. 

smooth, adj. Bland; insinuative. As. 
V, 4, 47 ; IHIV. II, 4, 79. 

smooth, V. 1. To make bland and in- 
sinuative. Pilgr. 306. 
2. To flatter. 2HVI. I, 1, 156 ; Tit. IV, 
4, 96 ; Per. I, 2, 78. 

snaffle. A bridle consisting of a slender 



mouth- bit with a single rein and with- 
out a curb. Ant. II, 2, 63. Schm. 
defines it as a " bridle which crosses the 
nose," certainly an imperfect descrip- 
tion. A snaffle is one of the easiest 
forms of bit (for the horse), hence 
Antony's expression : which with a 
snaffle you may pace easy, that is, 
without a severe bit, such as a curb. 

Snare, dr. p. A sheriff's officer. 2HIV. 

sneck up. Usually defined as an ex- 
clamation of contempt, equivalent to 
" Go and hang yourself ! " So in Nares, 
Dyce, Schm., etc. Tw. II, 3, 101. I 
think it quite as probable that in this 
case it means "shut up!" A sneck is 
an old word for latch (still used in 
Scotland) ; sneck the door = shut or 
latch the door. Either definition makes 
good sense in this passage, the only one 
where the word occurs in Sh. In the 
3rd Var. the comments on this passage 
include several quotations which favor 
the " go hang yourself " gloss. 

sneap, n. A reprimand ; a taunt ; a 
snub. 2HIV. II, 1, 133. 

sneap, v. To check; to nip. LLL. I, 1, 
100 ; Wint. I, 2, 13. 

snipe. The smallest of game birds, hence 
a synonym for a trifling, insignificant 
creature. 0th. I, 3, 390. War burton 
calls it "a diminitive woodcock," which 
it certainly is not, as it belongs to an 
entirely different species. 

snipt=-taffeta. Ribbons or snippings of 
taffeta. All's. IV, 5, 2. A contemptu- 
ous expression used by Lafeu in allusion 
to Parolles' would-be fine clothes, orna- 
mented with ribbons or snippings of 
taffeta. See taffeta. 

snore, v. To breathe with a rough, hoarse 
noise in sleep. Tp. II, 1, 217 and 300; \ 
Cym. Ill, 6, 34. 

snore, n. A breathing with a harsh 
noise in sleep. Tp. II, 1, 218 ; Mcb. II, 2, 6. 
This word as verb and noun occurs 
nine times in the plays. It is, no doubt, 
an imitative or onomatopoetic word, 
akin to snarl. Snore and snort seem 
to be from the same root, and it is prob- 
able that, as Wedgwood suggests, the 



SNO 



297 



SNTT 



effect of the final t is to express abrupt- 
ness or discontinuity. In Sh. time the 
two words were clearly differentiated, 
and it would seera that snoring would 
be more appropriate than snorting in 
Oth. I, 1, 90. When we consider Fal- 
staff's "robustious" characteristics, 
snorting would, perhaps, be a permis- 
sible word to use in his case. IHIV. II, 
4, 578. 

snorting. Snoring. Oth. 1, 1, 90 ; IHIV- 
II, 4, 578. See snore. 

Snout the Tinker, dr. p. Mids. 

snow. The line in Mids. V, 1, 59, That 
is, hot ice mid strange snow, involves 
a difficulty which is not easily solved. 
The speech of Theseus has for its object 
the setting in opposition of various con- 
tradictory qualities ; hot ice is easily 
understood, but strange snow does not 
seem to convey any clear idea. Pope 
omitted the line altogether. Others 
have emended by reading "shew" for 
"snow"; "black snow"; "strong 
snow"; "seething snow"; "swarthy 
snow"; "staining snow"; "sable 
snow." Steevens explained the expres- 
sion as : " hot ice and snow of as strange 
a quality." The Cowden-Clarkes, how- 
ever, explain strange, as it occurs here 
and in some other passages, as " anom- 
alous, unnatural, prodigious," and this 
seems to give a good sense as the line 
stands. 

snow=broth. The cold, foamy product of 
melted snow. Meas. I, 4, 58. 

This expression has puzzled some, but 
it is a common one amongst Scotch 
anglers, who know that "snaw-broo" 
spoils the water for fishing. 

snuff. The radical meaning of this word 
is the black carbonaceous deposit which 
gathers on the wick of an old-fashioned 
candle and which, in the early part of 
the last century, was removed every 
little while by means of a pair of 
"snuffers," some of which were of the 
most beautiful and elaborate designs 
and costly materials. In these days of 
electricity, acetylene, gas, kerosene and 
patent candles which require no " snuff- 



ing," the force of some of Sh. expres- 
sions in which "snuff" is used is not 
evident to modern readers. Thus, in 
Cym. I, 6, 86, To hide me from the 
radiant sun, and solace P the dungeon 
by a snuff, a ' 'snuff ' ' means an unsnuff ed 
candle, i.e., one of which the wick is 
laden with snuff and which consequently 
gives a poor light. (Rolfe explains as 
a " snuffed candle," meaning, no doubt, 
a candle with much snuff ; but this is 
an unusual use of the word "snuffed.") 
See also Hml. IV, 7, 116, and Lr. IV, 6, 
39. From this darkening of the light 
by the accumulation of snuff, the word 
snuff came to mean offence or huff, as 
in LLL. V, 2, 23, and Mids. V, 1, 254, 
and also an object of contempt, as in 
All's. I, 2, 59, all which uses, allusions 
and quibbles are easily understood when 
the facts relating to their origin are 
known. 
Snug the Joiner, dr.p. Mids. 

In a note upon Bottom's direction to 
Snug, in Mids. Ill, 1, 46 : Let him 
name his na')ne ; and tell them plainly, 
he is Snug the joiner, Malone (SrdVar., 
Vol. V, p. 246) says: "There are prob- 
ably many temporary allusions to par- 
ticular incidents and characters scat- 
tered through our author's plays, which 
gave a poignancy to certain passages, 
while the events were recent, and the 
persons pointed at yet living. In the 
speech now before us, I think it not 
improbable that he meant to allude to 
a fact which happened in his time, at 
an entertainment exhibited before Queen 
Elizabeth. It is recorded in a manu- 
script collection of anecdotes, stories, 
etc., entitled Merry Passages and 
Jeasts, MS. Harl. 6395 : 

" ' There was a spectacle presented to 
Queen Elizabeth upon the water, and, 
among others, Harry Goldingham was 
to represent Arion upon the Dolphin's 
backe ; but finding his voice to be verye 
hoarse and unpleasant, when he came 
to perform it, he tears off his disguise 
and swears he xvas none of Arion, not 
he, hut even honest Harry Golding- 



so 



so 



ham; which blunt discoverie pleased 
the queene better than if it had gone 
through in the right way : — yet he could 
order his voice to an instrument ex- 
ceeding well. ' 

" The collector of these Meri-y Passages 
appears to have been nephew to Sir 
Roger L'Estrange." 

Sir Walter Scott in his "Kenilworth," 
Vol. II, p. 202 (ed. of 1831), makes Mike 
Lambourne the hero of this story, and 
refers in a note to Laneham's account 
of the queen's entertainment, "a very 
diverting tract, written by as great a 
coxcomb as ever blotted paper." 
so, so! These words (0th. V, 2, 86), 
standing as they do, without any stage 
direction, are apt to puzzle the ordinary 
reader. Indeed, within a few weeks a 
most energetic, though, evidently, not a 
very well-informed correspondent has 
addressed a letter to one of our journals 
In which he scores poor Sh. unmercifully 
for what he calls the absurdity of this 
scene. If he had turned to the New 
Variorum edition of Dr. Furness, he 
would have found nearly six solid pages 
of fine type in which the subject is fully 
explained. 

The difficulty arises from the apparent 
contradiction of first having Desdemon a 
smothered, then having her revive so 
as to speak intelligently and afterwards 
die without apparent cause. This was 
noted by Steevens (see 3rd. Var., Vol. 
IX, p. 473), who says : " I am of opinion 
that some theatrical direction has been 
omitted, and that when Othello says — 
' Not dead ? not yet quite dead ? * * * 
So, so ! ' he then stabs her, repeating the 
two last words as he repeats the blow." 

Verplanck says: "There is no stage 
direction at this place in the original 
copies ; but it is most probable that the 
Poet intended Othello here to stab Des- 
demona, according to the practice of 
the modern stage. His previous resolu- 
tion, 'I'll not shed her blood,' is for- 
gotten in the agony and terror of the 
moment, when he says — ' Not dead ! not 
yet quite dead ?' " 



That "the practice of the modern 
stage ' ' is the tradition of the past seems 
ntore than probable. Collier published 
an old ballad, found amongst the Eger- 
ton papers, in which we are told that 
Othello 

sought his lady as she layde 
Within her virgin bed, 
And there his hands of blackest shade 
He dyed to gory red. 

The antiquity of the ballad has been 
called in question, and Collier himself 
points out some errors in it, but it is 
apparently hot quite as modern as Dr. 
Ingleby would have us believe. 

That Garrick used the dagger is well 
known, but it is not quite settled whether 
he followed an old practice or intro- 
duced an innovation, the apologies that 
were offered for his so doing favoring 
the latter idea. Amongst modern actors, 
Booth, Fechter, Davenport and several 
others adopt the stabbing method ; Sal- 
vini thinks that "So, so" " means that 
Othello kneels on her breast to hasten 
her death." I am told that on the 
German stage stabbing is the usual 
practice. 

Of the editors, Steevens, Rann, 
Knight, Verplanck, Collier, Hudson, 
approve of stabbing ; the Clarkes think 
that probably Othello merely heaped 
more clothes around her ; Dyce, Staun- 
ton, White, Rolfe and Purnell are silent 
(Furness). Strange to say, "The Henry 
Irving Shakespeare " (Marshall and 
Verity), which is supposed to be the 
actor's special edition, passes the subject 
by without a word of comment. 

Furness, with his usual indefatig- 
able thoroughness, has not only dis- 
cussed the subject from the historical 
point of view, but he has insti- 
tuted a series of physiological en- 
quiries which throw much light on the 
subject. He very naively gives his 
reason for so doing : " For Shakespeare's 
credit I felt no concern, but I did feel 
mortified for Nature, on whose behalf 
it seemed that if ever our best medical 
wisdom were to be unmuzzled, this was 



so 



309 



SOI 



the hour." He therefore sent a marked 
copy of Act V, Scene 2, to seven of the 
most prominent medical men of the 
country and obtained from each his 
opinion as to the cause of death and the 
mode of its infliction. The results he 
gives at length on pages 304, et seq., of 
his edition of Othello. The details are 
altogether too voluminous to be quoted 
here and we must, therefore, refer to 
the work just-cited. 

That stabbing removes all the physio- 
logical objections which have been urged 
against Sh. description of this murder 
seems well established. Against the 
practice there has been urged the de- 
claration of Othello himself, Yet Fll 
not shed her blood. But it is to be 
observed that the stabbing is used only 
after the attempt to smother has failed ; 
that Othello should, in the intense ex- 
citement of the moment, entirely forget 
his first resolution, is no violation of the 
natural course of things. 

Again ; he uses the simile : Pale as 
thy smock, and this was the point which 
seemed to Dr. Furness to be an over- 
sight on the part of Sh. , for if Desde- 
mona were smothered, her face, accord- 
ing to the common ideas of such matters, 
would be dark and congested, and if 
stabbed, her smock would be red. But 
aside from the fact that mere smother- 
ing does not always cause a discoloration 
of the face, the stabbing would make 
it pale, and the blood, if any flowed 
out of the wound, would descend, by 
the action of gravity, to the bed, so 
that that part of the smock that was in 
sight would remain unstained and white. 
I cannot see any difficulty here. 

Another objection to the stabbing 
theory has been found in the words : 
WJiose breath, indeed, these hands 
have newly stopj^ed. This has been 
taken to mean that he stopped her 
breath by smothering, not by stabbing. 
But if we take the words in an absolutely 
literal sense, he must have held his 
hands over her mouth or round her 
throat ; he could nob have used the bed- 



clothes or a pillow, as has always been 
the custom in the first stage of the 
murder and as is, indeed, implied in the 
stage direction in the Fl. — Smothers 
her. Her breath might have been 
stopped by his hands, using a dagger or 
a pistol bullet, as really as if he had, by 
his proper hands, fractured ' ' the cricoid 
cartilage of the larynx," as Dr. Hunt 
claims he did. 

The reader who wishes to study the 
subject thoroughly must consult the ed. 
of Dr. Furness. 

sob. This word, as it occurs in Err. IV, 
3, 25, has been pronounced nonsense, 
though, perhaps, the usual meaning of 
sob — " a convulsive sigh " (Worcester), 
is not so very inapt. A man would be 
likely to give a convulsive sigh when 
suddenly arrested. It is the reading in 
the Fl., the s being the old long form, 
which is very like an /. Consequently, 
Rowe amended to fob, giving this word 
the meaning of " a tap on the shoulder," 
a meaning which has been adopted 
by most modern dictionaries on the 
strength of this very passage, certainly 
a most unwarranted proceeding. Han- 
mer emended to "bob"; Dyce to 
" sop," and G.White to "stop." " Bob," 
in the sense of a light blow (cf. As. II, 
7, 55) makes good sense, but a reason- 
ably good meaning is conveyed by 
"fob," and this was adopted by Mar- 
shall in "The Henry Irving Shake- 
speare." And we may here note that 
in the old printer's case the boxes for/ 
and the long s were placed side by side 
so that an exchange was easy. The 
known meanings of. fob are (1) to cheat; 
to trick ; (3) to beat or maltreat ; (3) to 
be put out of breath by running. The 
last, which is an old English or Scotch 
meaning, gives not a bad sense. Rolfe 
adopts "bob " which, after all, is prob- 
ably the true reading. 

soiled. Kept in a stall and fed upon 
fresh grass or other green forage (vetches 
are frequently used) cut and brought to 
it. Such rich food and the limiting of 
exercise is apt to make an animal high- 



SOI 



300 



SON 



spirited and boisterous. The practice 
and the word are both in use at the 
present day. Lr. IV, 6, 124. 

Schm. explains it as "high-fed with 
green food," omitting mention of the 
confinement, and Furness, following 
Heath (1765), says: "This is the term 
used for a horse that is turned out in 
the spring to take the first flush of 
grass." A pastm-e-fed horse is not 
usually known as a soiled horse. For 
obvious reasons this mode of feeding is 
specially applicable to stud horses. 

soilure. Defilement. Troil. IV, 1, 56. 

solemnity. A feast ; a festival. Rom. 

I, 5, 59 ; and c/. All's. II, 3, 187 ; Mcb. 
Ill, 1, 14, and Mids. IV, 1, 190. 

Hunter, "New Illustrations," Vol. 

II, p. 136, has this note upon the word : 
" The application of the word solemn 

is a relic of the sentiment of remote 
ages, when there was something of the 
religious feeling connected with all high 
festivals and banquettings. The history 
of the word solemn would form an 
interesting philological article, pre- 
senting as it does so many phases in 
succession. ' ' Ariosto, translated by Har- 
rington, has : 

never did young lady brave and bright 
Like dancing better on a solemn day. 
solidare. A small coin. Tim. Ill, 1, 46. 
Solinus, c?r. p. Duke of Ephesus. Err, 
Solon. The reference to Solon in Tit. I, 
1, 177, that hath aspired to Solon'' s 
happiness^ is to the famous reply of 
that sage to Croesus, the last king of 
Lydia, who aslied him : Who was the 
happiest man he had ever seen? Solon 
answered that no man could be called 
happy till he had finished his life in a 
happy way. Alarmed at the growing 
power of the Persians, Croesus sent to 
consult the oracle of Apollo, at Delphi, 
whether he should march against the 
Persians, and received for answer that 
if he did so he would overthrow a 
great empire. Hereupon he collected 
a great army, marched against Cyrus, 
and after some indecisive battles he 
returned to Sardis where Cyrus besieged 



him, and after fourteen days captured 
the city. Croesus was taken alive and 
condemned to be burned to death. As 
he stood before the pyre, the warning 
of Solon came to his mind, and he thrice 
uttered the name of the sage. Cyrus 
enquired who it was that he called on ; 
and, upon hearing the story, repented 
of his purpose, and not only spared the 
life of Croesus, but made him his friend. 
Croesus survived Cyrus and accom- 
panied Cambyses in his expedition 
against Egypt. 

Solon was one of the seven sages. He 
lived to a ripe old age (about eighty) 
and died about 558 B. c. 

solve. Solution. Sonn. LXIX, 14. 

Somerset, Duke of, dr. p. A Lancastrian. 
2HVI. and 3HVI. 

Somerville, Sir John, dr.p. 3HVI. 

sometime. Former or formerly. Tp. V, 
1, 86; Cor. V, 1, 2; Hml. I, 2, 8, and 
III, 1, 114. 

sometimes. Formerly. RII. I, 2, 54; 
Hml. I, 1, 49 ; do. I, 2, 8. 

sonance. Sound ; tune. HV. IV, 2, 35. 

songs. Although this work makes no 
pretensions to the character of a con- 
cordance, it may not be out of place to 
give here a list of the songs found in 
Sh. A reference to the act and scene 
is all that is required, as such passages 
are easily found. 

A cup of wine that's brisk and fine. 2HIV. 

V,3. 
And will he not come again? Hml. IV, 5. 
Be merry, be merry, my wife has aU. 2HIV. 

V,3. 
Black spirits and white. Mcb. IV, 1. 
Blow, blow, thou winter wind. As. II, 7. 
Come away, come away, death. Tw. 11, 4. 
Come unto these yellow sands. Tp. I, 2. 
Come, thou monarch of the vine. Ant. II, 7. 
Do nothing but eat, and make good cheer. 

2HIV. V, 3. 
Fear no more the heat b' the sun. Cym. 

IV, 2. 
Fie on sinful fantasy. Wiv. V, 5. 
Fools had ne'er less grace in a year. Lr. 1, 4. 
FuU fathom five thy father lies. Tp. I, 2. 
Get you hence, for I must go. Wint. IV, 4. 
Hark, hark! the lark at heaven's gate 

sings. Cym. II, 3. 



SON 



301 



SOU 



He that has and a little tiny wit. Lr. Ill, 2. 
Honour, riches, marriage - blessing, Tp. 

IV, 1. 
How should I your true love know? Hml. 

IV, 5. 
I am gone, sir, and anon, sir. Tw. IV, 2. 
I shall no more to sea, to sea. Tp. II, 2. 
It was a lover and his lass. As. V, 3. 
King Stephen was a worthy peer. Oth. II, 3. 
Lawn as white a driven snow. Wint. IV, 4. 
Love, love, nothing but love, still morel 

Troil. Ill, 1. 
Now the hungry lion roars. Mids. V, 1. 
Now, until the break of day. Mids. V, 1. 
Oh ! mistress mine, where are you roaming? 

Tw. II, 3. 
On a day — alack the day ! LLL. IV, 3. 
Orpheus with his lute made trees. HVIII. 

III, 1, 

Over hill, over dale. Mids. II, 1. 
Pardon, goddess of the night. Ado. V, 3. 
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more. Ado. 

11,3. 
Take, O take those lips away. Meas. IV, 1. 
Tell me, where is fancy bred? Merch. Ill, 2. 
The ousel-cock, so black of hue. Mids. Ill, 1. 
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore 

tree. Oth. IV, 2. 
Then is there mirth in heaven. As. V, 4. 
To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day. Hml. 

IV, 5. 

To shallow rivers, to whose fall. Wiv. HI, 1, 

Under the greenwood tree. As. II, 5. 

Was this fair face the cause? quoth she. 
All's. I, 3. 

Wedding is great Juno's crown. As. V, 4. 

What shall he have that killed the deer? 
As. IV, 2. 

When daisies pied, and violets blue. LLL. 
V,2. 

When daffodils begin to peer. Wint. IV, 3. 

When that I was and a little tiny boy. Tw. 
V,l. 

Where the bee sucks, there suck I. Tp. V, 1. 

While you here do snoring lie. Tp. II, 1. 

Who is Silvia? What is she? Gent. IV, 1. 

Willyoubuy any tape? Wint. IV, 4. 

You spotted snakes, with double tongue. 
Mids. II, 2. 
sonties. Dyce is in doubt as to whether 

this word in old Gobbo's oath (March. 

II, 3, 47) is God^s saints, or God^s 

sanctity, or God''s sante (health). 
sooth, n. Truth. Tw. II, 4, 47 (see silly- 
sooth) ; HV. Ill, 6, 151 ; Oth. Ill, 4, 97. 
sooth, adj. True. Mcb. V, 5, 40. 
sop. Something, such as bread or cake, 



soaked in a liquid. RIII. I, 4, 163 ; 
Troil. I, 3, 113 ; Lr. II, 3, 35. 

The cakes or wafers placed in the wine 
drank at festivities. Shr. Ill, 3, 175. 
"At weddings, cakes, wafers and the 
like were blessed and put into the sweet 
wine which was always presented to the 
bride on those occasions. " Nares. See 
wine and moonshine. 

sore. A buck in his fourth year. The 
old spelling was soare. LLL. IV, 3, 59. 

sorel. A buck in his third year. LLL. 
IV, 3, 60. 

sort. 1. Rank; quality. Meas. IV, 4, 
19 ; Ado. I, 1, 7 ; Mids. Ill, 3, 159 ; HV. 
IV, 7, 143. 

The word, as used in this sense, has 
given rise to considerable discussion. 
Gr. White claims that it simply means 
"kind" or "species," and Marshall 
seems to be of the same opinion. Upon 
this point Furness very judiciously 
remarks: "The fact is that this word, 
like many others, has various shades of 
meaning, ranging from class to rank; 
the particular shade must be determined 
by the context according to the insight 
of the reader. ' ' 

2. Set; company. RIL IV, 1, 346; 
3HVI. II, 1, 167 ; Mids. Ill, 3, 13 and 31. 

3. Lot or chance. Troil. I, 3, 376. 
sort, V. 1. To select ; to find. 3HVI. V, 

6, 85. 

2. To turn out ; to result. Mids. Ill, 3, 
353 ; 3HVI. I, 3, 107 ; Hml. I, 1, 109. 

3. To ordain ; to govern. Merch. V, 1, 
133 ; RIII. II, 3, 36. 

4. To associate with. Ven. 689. 
sortance. Suitableness. 3HIV. IV, 1, 11. 
sot. A fool ; a blockhead. Wiv. Ill, 1, 

119; Tw. I, 5, 139; Lr. IV, 3, 8. 

soud. A word imitative of a noise made 
by a person heated and fatigued. Shr. 
IV, 1, 145. 

souls. The expression in Tw. II, 3, 60, 
that will draiv three souls out of one 
weaver, has given rise to some queer 
comments. Warburton, after referring 
to Ado. II, 3, 61, says: "Why he says 
' three souls ' is because he is speaking 
of a catch in three parts ; and the peri- 



sou 



302 



SOW 



patetic philosophy, then in vogue, very 
liberally gave every man three souls: 
The vegetative or plastic, the animal 
and the rational. To this, too, Jonson 
alludes in his ' Poetaster ' : ' What, 
will I turn shark upon my friends? 
or my friend's friends? I scorn it 
with my three souls.'' '^ Upon which 
Coleridge remarks: "O, genuine and 
inimitable (at least, I hope so) Warbur- 
ton ! This note of thine, if but one in 
five millions, would be half a one too 
much." But Warburton having given 
the hark-away, the idea of three souls 
in one man was worked " for all it was 
worth." Jackson suggested that the 
souls here mentioned are French sous 
or halfpence, and as weavers were an 
impecunious set, it must have been 
wonderful music that could draw three 
halfpence out of one of them! Few of 
the coms. give any satisfactory explan- 
ation of the passage and, perhaps, none 
is needed. Wright's interpretation is 
probably the correct one: "To draw 
three souls out of one starved weaver 
can be nothing more than a humorously 
exaggerated consequence of the power 
exerted by music, and to bring this 
about by a drinking song was a greater 
triumph still, for weavers were given 
to psalms." See weaver. 

soul=fearing. Terrifying the soul. John 
II, 1, 383. cf. fear. 

sound, n. This word, as it occurs in Tw. 
I, 1, 5, has given rise to much discussion. 
Rowe changed to wind, and Pope to 
south, and the latter emendation has 
been very generally adopted. But the 
objections to south are strong ; except 
in a single instance (Wint. V, 1, 161), 
Sh. always speaks of the south as an 
evil. See As. Ill, 5, 50 ; Tp. I, 2, 323 ; 
Cym. II, 3, 136. White asks : " But did 
Pope, or the editors who have followed 
him, ever lie musing on the sward at 
the edge of a wood and hear the low, 
sweet hum of the summer air as it 
kissed the coyly shrinking wild flowers 
upon the banks, and passed on loaded 
with fragrance from the sweet salute? 



If they ever did, how could they mak«5 
this change of sound to south ? and if 
they never did, they ai'e unable to en- 
tirely appreciate the passage, much less 
to improve it." Schm. explains the 
passage thus : " Like the sweet talk of 
lovers upon a bank of violets, perfuming 
the air and perfumed by it." 

Rolfe, in his ed. of Twelfth Night, 
has given elaboi'ate consideration to the 
passage, and his notes are well worth 
consulting. 
sound, V. 1. To fathom ; to measure the 
depth of, in a literal sense. Tp. Ill, 3, 
101 ; 2HIV. IV, 2, 51 ; Tit. IV, 3, 7. 

2. To examine or try to find out. No. 1 
used figuratively. Wiv. II, 1, 246 ; Hml. 
Ill, 2, 383 (with a pun). 

3. To proclaim ; to give utterance to. 
John IV, 2, 48; Per. Ill, Prol. 36. 

The word, as it occurs in HVIII. V, 
2, 13, is generally explained as "to pro- 
claim," " to give utterance to" (Rolfe, 
"The Henry Irving Shakespeare," and 
others). But it seems to me that to 
fathom gives even a better sense. Cran- 
Hier would probably hope that Dr. 
Butts would not see the full measure of 
his disgrace rather than wish that he 
might not prattle about it. In Rom. Ill, 
2, 126, the word may mean either to 
give utterance to or to sound as with a 
plummet. The whole passage is obscure. 
Furness and Rolfe offer no comment on 
it, and there is none to be found in the 
3rd Var. of 1821. 

souse. To pounce upon ; to swoop down 
on as does a bird of prey. John V, 2, 
150. 

soused. Pickled. IHIV. IV, 2, 13. 

A word in common use in the U.S. as 
well as in many parts of England, 
though the coms. seem to think it 
necessary to give an explanation. 

Southwell, dr.p. A priest. 2HVI. 

sow. A sow of lead = a large bar of 
lead. Kins. V, 3, 120. In casting lead 
and iron into masses for future melting 
(not into special forms) the metal is 
poured into a central gutter, from which 
branches lead off on each side. The 



sow 



303 



SPA 



central bar thus formed is called a sow, 
and the bars at the sides, pigs. Hence 
the terms pig-iron and pig-lead. 

sowl. To pull ; to drag. Cor. IV, 5, 213. 

Sowter. Usually" explained as the name 
of a hound. Tw. II, 5, 135. 

Much learning has been expended on 
this word and many passages cited, 
very unnecessarily it seems to me, to 
prove that sowter means a cobbler or 
shoemaker. The word was common in 
old English and is still in general use in 
Scotland. The Souter Johnnie of ' ' Tarn 
o' Shanter " should be reference enough, 
but if another should be needed, let us 
take the old song : 

It's up wi' the souters o' Selkirk 
And doon wi' the Yerl o' Hume 

And up wi' a' the braw lads 
That sew the single-soled shoon. 

All this is plain enough ; a sowter is a 
cobbler, but that there is any relation 
between the characteristics of a cobbler 
and a hound is not so apparent. 

Beckford (1781), in his " Thoughts on 
Hunting," gives a long list of names 
suitable for hounds, but Sowter is not 
among them, Saunter being the nearest. 
Furness, in his ed. of Twelfth Night, 
which has reached me just as these 
pages are going through th§ press, makes 
an ingeniou s suggestion. He says : "But 
are we certain that ' Souter ' (so spelled 
in the foregoing quotation from Greene) 
[if Appelles * * * suffer the greasie 
Souter to take a view of his curious 
worke] was not pronounced Shouter? — 
just as suitor was pronounced shooter. 
Would there then be absolutely no 
meaning, as a hound's name, in 
' Shouter ' ? Would it not be as appro- 
priate as Echo ? ' ' 

But is it necessary that the name of a 
hound should ha.ve a meaning? And if 
so, what is the meaning of " Clowder " 
in Shr. Ind. I, 18 ? 

And are we sure that the word was 
intended for the name of a hound ? 
Souter, like cozier and botcher, was a 
contemptuous epithet, and may here 
meaa no more than lout, lubber or 



botcher. The addition of a hunting 
phrase, making a sort of mixed meta- 
phor, would not be out of place in the 
mouth of Sir Toby. The expression 
would then mean : Although as unskil- 
ful as a botcher, cozier or souter, he 
will again pick up the scent, since it is 
as rank as a fox. For though = since, 
see though. 

space. Upon this word, as it occurs in 
Lr. I, 1, 56, Craig makes the following 
note: "Schmidt explains space, 'space 
in general (the world) ' and liberty ' the 
freedom to enjoy it ' ; but I rather take 
the meaning to be absolute, complete 
freedom, 'ample room and verge 
enough.' " See undistinguished. 

Spain. For the fig of Sjmin (HV. Ill, 6, 
63) see fig. The only other passage in 
which Spain is mentioned and which 
requires notice is that in 0th. V, 2, 253 : 
It was a sword of Spain. That Spain 
in the time of Sh. was famous for its 
swords is well known. See Rom. I, 4, 
84. Jonson speaks of them frequently. 
Referring to ice-brook''s temper, John- 
son tells us that "steel is hardened by 
being put red-hot into very cold water." 
This is true, but most modern eds. tell 
us that "steel is tempered by being 
plunged in cold water," which is not 
true. See temper. 

span=counter. A boyish gaine, played 
with counters instead of marbles. Strutt 
says : " I have frequently seen the boys, 
for want of both, perform it with stones. 
This sport is called in French tapper, 
a word signifying to sti'ike or hit, 
because if one counter is struck by 
the other, the game is won." 2HVI. 
IV, 2, 170. 

spaniel. To follow subserviently. Ant. 
IV, 10, 34. 

Spartan dog. Hanmer explains this 
epithet by saying that ' ' the dogs of 
Sparta were reckoned among those of 
the most fierce and savage kind." 
Singer, probably more correctly, says : 
" The reference seems to be to the 
determined silence of lago and to the 
proverbial silence of the Spartans under 



SPA 



304 



SPH 



suffering, as well as to the savageness 

of the dogs. " Oth. V, 3, 361. 
spay, I To remove the ovaries. Meas. 
splay, j II, 1, 242. 
specialty. The specialty of rule (Troil. 

I, 3, 78) = "the particular rights of 

supreme authority. " Johnson. 
speciously. Dame Quickly's blunder for 

especially. Wiv. Ill, 4, 113, and IV, 

5, 1 14. 
speculation. 1. Vision ; sight. Troil. Ill, 

3, 109 ; Mcb. Ill, 4, 95. Also in Lr. Ill, 

I, 24, where the abstract is put for the 
concrete. 

2. The act of beholding. HV. IV, 2, 31. 
sped. Dispatched ; done for. Merch. II, 

9, 72; Shr. Ill, 2, 53; Rom. Ill, 1, 94. 
Speed, dr. p. A clownish servant. Gent. 
speed. Fortune ; protecting power. Shr. 

II, 1, 139 ; Cym. Ill, 5, 167 ; As. I, 2, 
232 ; Oth. II, 1, 67. 

speken. Obsolete form of speak. Per. 
II, Prol. 12. 

spell. To spell backward is to reverse 
the usual order of the letters ; hence, to 
understand or explain in an exactly 
contrary sense ; to turn inside out ; to 
reverse the character or intention of. 
Ado. Ill, 1, 61. Steevens says: "Al- 
luding to the practice of witches in 
uttering prayers. "(? ) See scholar. A 
similar train of thought is found in 
Lyly's "Anatomy of Wit" (1581), as 
quoted by Steevens : "if he be cleanly, 
they [women] term him proude ; if 
meene in apparel, a sloven ; if tall, a 
lungis ; if short, a dwarf ; if bold, blunt ; 
if shamefast, a cowarde," etc. 

spend. See to spend. 

spendthrift sigh. The allusion in Hml. 
IV, 7, 123, is to the current notion, that 
sighs shorten life by drawing blood 
from the heart. The same idea is found 
in Mids. Ill, 2, 97. 

sperr. To shut; to make fast. Troil., 
Prol. 19. The word is " stirre " in the 
Fi., changed to sperr by Theobald. It 
is an old word signifying to defend by 
bars. Spenser has : 

The other that was en trad, labourM fast 
To sperre the gate, i^ 



And in Warner's "Albion's England ": 
" When chased home into his holdes, 
there sparred up in gates." The use of 
s2oar as an equivalent of har is now 
obsolete except in ship-building and 
some of the mechanic arts. 

sphere. In the passage : Swifter than 
the inooyi''s sphere (Mids. II, 1, 7), the 
reference is not to the orhit in which 
the moon moves as Schm. and some 
others have it, for certainly the orhit 
of the moon does not move. " At the 
date of this play the Ptolemaic sy.stem 
was believed in, and the moon and all 
the planets and stars were supposed to 
be fixed in hollow crystalline spheres or 
globes. These spheres were supposed 
to be swung bodily round the earth in 
twenty-four hours by the top sphere, 
the priniuni mobile, thus making an 
entire revolution in one day and night." 
Furnivall in "New Shakespearean 
Society Transactions." It did not re- 
quire any great knowledge of geometry 
to see that even if the moon were at a 
distance from the earth much less than 
that which we know it to be, the velocity 
of the sphere which carried the moon 
must have been greater than anything 
else of which the men of Sh. time had 
any knowledge. 

spherical. Planetary in the astrological 
sense. In Sh. time the sun and moon 
were included among the planets. By 
spherical predominance (Lr. I, 2, 134) 
means, through some special star being 
predominant or ruling at the hour of 
our birth. See AU's. I, 1, 211. See 
predominance. 

sphery. Starlike. Mids. II, 2, 99. 
" Sphere " is used by Sh. to denote the 
star itself as well as the crystalline 
sphere which was supposed to carry it 
round the earth. See sphere. 

Sphinx. The Sphinx was a female monster, 
daughter of Orthus and Chimaera. 
Various accounts are given of the cause 
of her being sent to Thebes, but when 
thei-e she settled on a rock and put a 
riddle to every Theban that passed by, 
and whoever was unable to solve it was 



SPl 



305 



SPl 



devoured. Two forms of the riddle are 
given : 1. A bein^ with four feet, has 
two feet and three feet, and only one 
voice ; but its feet vary, and when it 
has most it is weakest? 3. What animal 
is that which walks on four legs in the 
morning, on two during the day and on 
three in the evening? The latter form 
is the one most generally known. After 
many Thebans had been devoured, 
CEdipus solved the riddle as follows: 
The animal is man who creeps on hands 
and knees in infancy, walks upright on 
two legs during the noonday of life and 
in the evening or old age leans on a 
staff. This, of course, is the solution of 
both forms. On the riddle being solved, 
the Sphinx threw herself from the rock 
and was killed. Other accounts say that 
she threw herself into the sea. 

The Greek Sphinx had the form of a 
winged lion, the breast and upper part 
being the figure of a woman. Some- 
times it appears with the face of a 
maiden, the breast, feet and claws of a 
lion, the tail of a serpent and the wings 
ofabird. TheSp hinxes were represented 
in various attitudes and were frequently 
introduced by Greek artists as orna- 
ments of architectural works. 

The Egyptian Sphinx is the figure of 
a lion without wings in a lying attitude, 
the upper part of the body being that 
of a human being. The Sphinxes ap- 
pear in Egypt to have been set up in 
avenues forming the approaches to 
temples. 

spial. A spy. IHVI. I, 4, 8. In many 
eds. espials. 

spied. Perceived. 0th. I, 1, 77. That 
this word makes utter nonsense in this 
passage must be evident to every 
thoughtful reader. Warburton, in his 
ed. (1747), Vol. VIII, p. 278, suggests 
that spied is a misprint for spread, 
which in the Fl. is generally spelt spred 
(see Hml. Ill, 4, 151 ; do. IV, 7, 176 ; Cor. 
Ill, 1, 311, all spelled spred in the Fl.) 
and consequently might give rise to a 
very probable misprint. The substitu- 
tion of spread or spred for spied makes 



perfect sense, and it is surprising that 
it has not been adopted. Various at- 
tempts have been made to bring good 
sense out of the passage as it stands, 
but, to my mind, none are reasonably 
successful. See ' ' Shakespearean Notes 
and New Readings," p. 12. 

spill. To destroy ; to spoil. Hml. IV, 5, 
20 ; Lr. Ill, 2, 8. 

spilth. Spilling ; waste. Tim. II, 2, 169. 

spinner. A spider. Mids. II, 2, 21 ; Rom. 
I, 4, 59. I have retained the generally 
accepted definition of spinner given by 
the best Sh. coms. and by Palsgrave 
and the " Promptorium Parvulorum," 
but I doubt if any species of spider was 
the insect meant in these two passages. 
I incline to some species of th^ Tipulidce 
or daddy-long-legs, which in my boy- 
hood were called spinners and jenny- 
spinners, from their motion when de- 
positing their eggs at the roots of plants. 
Long-legged spiders do not spin webs 
and they are quite sluggish in their 
movements. Paterson, in his " Insects 
Mentioned in Shakespeare," p. 215, 
seems to think that spiders are meant ; 
Dyer and Furness are silent, and Do wden 
quotes Fox's "Acts and Monuments" : 
" Where the bee gathereth honey, even 
there the spinner gathereth venome." 
But in Mids. II, 2, spiders and spinners 
•are mentioned separately as if they 
were regarded as distinct species : 
Weaving spiders come not here ; 
Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence! 

Spit. This word of itself requires no 
gloss, but there are two passages in 
which it occurs knd which require a 
note. 

In Shr. Ill, 1, 39, Bianca says, 0,fie! 
the treble jars. On which Lucentio 
remarks : Spit in the hole, man, and 
tune again. Schm, gives a special de- 
finition (5) for "hole" here, making it 
mean "the hollow of the palm" and 
explaining the whole passage as "spit 
in your hand, take courage and make a 
new effort." And this is substantially 
repeated under "spit." R. G. White 
makes the following remarks upon this 



SPI 



306 



SPO 



very absurd gloss : "It seems almost 
trifling to say that what he was told to 
do was to spit in the peg-hole in the 
neck of the instrument, so that the peg 
would hold when he screwed up the 
string. Moreover, even in Shakespeare's 
time, gentlemen did not spit into their 

, hands in the presence of ladies, if at 
all." " Studies in Shakespeare," p. 339. 
The other passage occurs in 2HIV. I, 
2, 237, where Falstaff says: And I 
brandish anything hut a bottle, I would 
I might never S2nt white again. RoJfe 
calls this a perplexing expression, and 
Nares and Dyce explain spitting white 
as the result of intemperance, so that 
Falstaff 's remark would mean, may I 
never g^ drunk again. Furni vail quotes 
"Batman upon Bartholonie" to the 
effect that spitting white is a sign of 
health, and E,olfe accej^ts this as the 
key to the puzzle. R. G. White thinks 
that it means, may I never be thirsty 
again so that I can relish a good drink, 
spitting white or "spitting cotton" 
being a well-known sign of intense 
thirst. There is an old joke about a 
sea-captain who always preferred very 
salt food because after a little while it 
produced a thirst for which he would 
not take ten dollars. I am inclined to 
think that this is what Falstaff means. 

spital, ) An hospital. HV. II, 1, 

spital house. ) 78 ; Tim. IV, 3, 39. Schm. 
says that this term is used "in con- 
tempt. ' ' Hardly ; merely low colloquial. 

spite. 1 . Despite ; scornful defiance. Rom. 

1, 1, 85. 

2. Vexation ; mortification. Mids. Ill, 

2, 194; Tw. V, 1, 131 ; IHVI. II, 4, 106. 

3. Ill-luck; bad fortune; trouble. Hml. 

I, 5, 189. 

The rather singular expression spite 
of spite is found three times in Sh. : 
Err. II, 2, 191 ; John V, 4, 5, and 3HVI. 

II, 2, 5. Schm. explains it as "come 
the worst that may, notwithstanding 
anything that may happen." That it 
has this meaning in the third quotation 
is no doubt true, but in the other pass- 
ages this does not seem to give a good 



sense — certainly not in the first. There, 
it seems to me, that O spite of spites 
simply means extraordinary bad luck, 
just as we might say ill of ills, or 
horror of horrors. 

In John V, 4, 5, the first spite is evi- 
dently equivalent to despite, and the 
second to ill-luck or bad fortune. 

The passage in Tim. IV, 3, 272, in spite 
p)ut some stuff, is explained by Schm. as 
"against her will. This seems a very 
erroneous interpretation. Spite, here, 
does not mean in spite of or forcibly ; 
it indicates a desire to indulge spite or 
malice against humanity. 

splenitive. Easily excited to anger. Hml. 
V, 1, 284. In Sh. time the spleen was 
supposed to be the seat of anger. 

split. To make all split (Mids. I, 2, 25) 
means to cause a great uproar ; to make 
every one laugh and act boisterously. 
The phrase is a nautical one, but to 
split one's sides with laughter is a com- 
mon colloquialism. 

spoons. The passages referring to spoons 
in HVIII. V, 3, 168, and V, 4, 40, are 
not easily understood unless we know 
the customs of the times. "Spoons of 
silver gilt — called apostle-spoons be- 
cause the figure of an apostle was 
carved at the extremity of the handle 
of each — were, in the time of Sh. (and 
much earlier), the usual present of 
sponsors at christenings to the child. 
Such as were at once opulent and 
generous, gave the whole twelve ; those 
who were either more moderately rich 
or liberal escaped at the expense of the 
four evangelists; or, even, sometimes 
contented themselves with presenting 
one spoon only, which exhibited the 
figure of any saint in honour of whom 
the child received its name. ' ' Steevens. 
Then follows numerous references to the 
literature of the day, to which Malone 
adds the following story, given on the 
authority of Donne : " Shakespeare was 
god-father to one of Ben Jonson's 
children, and after the christening, 
being in deep study, Jonson came to 
cheer him up, and asked him why he 



SPO 



307 



satr 



was so melancholy. No 'faith, Ben, 
says he, not I ; but I have been con- 
sidering a great while what should be 
the fittest gift for me to bestow upon 
my godchild, and I have resolv'd at 
last. I pr*y thee, what ? says he. I' 
faith, Ben, I'll give him a douzen good 
latten [Latin] spoons, and thou shalt 
translate them. " See latten. 

sport. When Celia (As. I, 2, 108) asks Le 
Beau, Sport! of what colour ? she 
glances apparently at Le Beau's affected 
or dandified pronunciation of sporty he 
having got it nearer to sjpot than sport. 
Hudson. Schni. explains colour as 
meaning kind, but the context does not 
seem to favor this as much as Collier's 
gloss, as adopted by Hudson. 

Spot. 1. A piece of embroidery. Cor. 

1, 3, 56. 

2. A stain; a disgrace. M.Mason. John 
V, 2, 30, and V, 7, 107. 

Spotted, Embroidered. 0th. Ill, 3, 435. 
Spotted with strawberries = having 
figures of strawberries worked on it ; it 
does not mean stained with strawberries. 
cf. Cor. I, 3, 56. 

Sprag. Alert ; quick ; spry. (A mispro- 
nunciation of sprack.) Wiv. IV, 1, 84. 

Spring. 1. The rise; the beginning. Mids. 
II, 1, 82 ; 2HIV. IV, 4, 35. cf. Luke i, 78. 

2. The season after winter. Farewell, 
thou latter spring! (IHIV. I, 2, 177) 
evidently means an old man renewing 
youthful geniality and jollity. See all- 
halloivn. 

3. A young shoot. Ven. 656. 
Springe. A snare for catching birds. 

Wint. IV, 3, 36; Hml. I, 3, 115; do. V, 

2, 317. Pronounced sprinj. 
Spring=halt. A nervous disease in horses 

which causes them to twitch up the legs 
suddenly when they take a step. Some- 
times called string-halt. HVIII. I, 3, 13. 

sprited. Haunted. Cym. II, 3, 144. In 
some eds. sprighted. 

spriglitly, I Having the likeness of a 

spritely. i" spirit. Cym. V, 5, 428. 

spur. The root of a tree. Tp. V, 1 , 47 ; 
Cym. IV, 2, 58. 
Malone says : "Spurs are the longest 



and largest leading roots of trees." 3rd 
Var., Vol. XIII, p. 149. But I think 
the word applies to roots in general and 
especially to the branches of the roots. 
Pope, in his note on Cym. IV, 2, 58, 
says : " Spurs, an old word for the fibres 
of a tree." 
spy. Of this word, as it occurs in Mcb. Ill, 

I, 130, Acquaint you with the perfect 
spy o' the time, Johnson says : " What 
is meant by this passage will be found 
difficult to explain," and he suggests an 
emendation — a perfect sp>y o' the time 
for the perfect sp)y o' the time. This 
correction was also suggested by Collier's 
MS. corrector and has been adopted by 
White. Monk Mason says: "'With' 
has here the force of by ; and the mean- 
ing of the passage is : I will let you 
know by the person best informed of 
the exact moment in which the business 
is to be done." 

As noted by the Clarendon eds. , there 
are two interpretations which may be 
given to the passage : 1. It may mean 
that Macbeth would acquaint the mur- 
derers with the most accurate observa- 
tion of the time ; or, 2. The " spy o' the 
time " may mean the third murderer 
who joins them and delivers their offices. 
The latter meaning was that adopted 
by Dr. Johnson. 

squander. To scatter. Merch, I, 3, 22. 
In Howell's " Letters " (1650) bespeaks 
of "islands squandered in the vast 
ocean. ' ' Here it does not mean ' ' wasted ' ' 
as is the modern signification. 

squandering. Rambling; going at ran- 
dom. As. II, 7, 57. 

square. 1. Regularity; propriety. Ant. 

II, 3, 6. (Masonic?) 

2. A squadron or troop. HV. IV, 2, 28. 
As the word occurs in Ant. Ill, 11, 40, 
it is generally defined as squadrons. 
But may it not possibly mean fights or 
battles ? This seems to give better sense, 
and see next articles. 

3. The front of the female dress, near 
the bosom, generally worked or em- 
broidered. Wint. IV, 4, 212. 

The passage in Lr. I, 1, 76, which the 



SQU 



308 



STA 



most preciotis square of sense j^os- 
sesses, has given rise to much discussion. 
The Folios readpro/esse.s ; the Quartos, 
possesses, and the latter has been 
adopted in the g.a. text. Many eds. 
think that the entire passage is corrupt. 
Warburton thinks that square refers 
to the four nobler senses : sight, hearing, 
taste and smell; Moberly explains it 
as: "the choicest estimate of sense"; 
Wright as : " the most delicately sensi- 
tive part of my nature." Verity says : 
" The critics see the general sense, which 
is obvious enough, and try to express it 
in a way that will best square with 
square; but no one succeeds, I think, 
in making the connection really natural. 
Furness, in his note on professes (the 
reading which he adopts), says : "What- 
ever meaning or no-meaning we may 
attach to 'square of sense,' it seems 
clear to me that Regan refers to the 
joys which that ' square ' ' professes ' to 
bestow ; I therefore follow the Folios." 
To my mind the objection to pro/e.9ses 
lies in the fact that it requires the 
elaborate filling up of an ellipsis. Verity 
suggests that the compositor was led 
astray by his eye having caught pro/ess 
two lines above. 

square, v. 1. To quarrel. Mids. II, 1, 
30 ; Tit. II, 1, 100. 
2. To judge. Troil. V, 2, 132. 

squarer. A quarreller. Ado. I, 1, 82. 

squash. An unripe peascod. Mids. Ill, 
1, 191. 

Not yet old enough for a. man, nor 
young enough for a boy ; as a squash 
is before 'tis a peascod. Tw. I, 5, 166. 

squier, \ A square, rule or measure. 

squire, f LLL. V, 2, 474 ; Wint. IV, 4, 
348 ; IHIV. II, 2, 13. 

squiny. To look asquint. Lr. IV, 6, 140. 

Stafford, Lord, dr. p. A Yorkist. 3HVI. 

Stafford, Sir Humphrey, dr. p. 2HVI. 

stages. Actors. Hml. II, 2, 358. Theo- 
bald suggested that the word stages 
here is a misprint for stagers. To define 
it as "the floor on which theatrical per- 
formances are exhibited" (Schm.) hardly 
meets the sense in this passage. 



staggers. A disease in horses which 
sometimes causes dulness, blindness, 
etc., and at others great excitement. 
Johnson suggests that it is to the latter 
(" wild and delirious perturbation ") that 
allusion is made in Cym. V, 5, 233. But 
allusion to either form would make 
sense. All's. II, 8, 170 ; Shr. Ill, 2, 55. 

stain. 1. To eclipse. Sonn. XXXV, 3; 
RII. Ill, 3, 66 ; Ant. Ill, 4, 27. 
2. To pervert; to corrupt. Sonn. CIX, 
11 ; All's. II, 1, 123. 

stair. The passage in Ado. V, 2, 6, shall 
I always keep below stairs? has re- 
ceived several interpretations, that 
generally accepted being : Shall I always 
be a servant and never a mistress? 
which, perhaps, also conveys a sub- 
audition of, shall I never get married? 
Theobald emended and read above stairs, 
but as Steevens says : " There is danger 
in any attempt to reform a joke two 
hundred years old." 

stale, n. 1. A decoy; bait. Tp. IV, 1, 
187; Shr. Ill, 1, 90. Cotgrave gives: 
"Estalon * * * a stale (as a Larke, 
etc.) wherewith Fowlers traine sillie 
birds unto their destruction." 

2. A stalking-horse, q.v.; a mask. Err. 
II, 1, 101. So Malone, Dyce and some 
others gloss the word in this passage. 
Thus Malone : " Adriana unquestion- 
ably means to compare herself to a 
stalking horse [from] behind whom 
Antipholus shoots at such game as he 
selects. " Others render it as in 3. 

3. Laughing-stock ; dupe, which it un- 
doubtedly means in 3HVI. Ill, 3, 260, 
and Tit. I, 1, 304. 

4. A wanton of the lowest type (Furness) ; 
a prostitute. Ado. II, 2, 26, and IV, 1, 66. 

5. The urine of horses. Ant. I, 4, 62. 
In Wiv. II, 3, 30, the term " bully stale " 
is used by the host in derision of the 
Doctor's method of practice. 

See scale. 

In Shr. I, 1, 58, this word has been 
defined by some as harlot, but I can- 
not think that it will bear that signifi- 
cation there. Rather, a laughing-stock, 
or pei'haps an old maid whose attractions 



STA 



309 



STA 



have become stale. That it has an 
opprobrious meaning in some passages 
is beyond question, 

stalk, V. To steal quietly upon game so 
as to get within shooting distance. 
Lucr. 365 ; Ado. II, 3, 95. 

stalking-^horse, n. A horse trained to 
approach game quietly, feeding all the 
time, while the gunner or archer con- 
ceals himself behind the animal and is 
thus enabled to get within shooting 
distance. Sometimes an artificial or 
stuffed horse mounted on wheels was 
used. As. V, 4, 111. 

stall. 1. To dwell ; to lodge. Ant. V, 1, 39. 
2. To keep close as in a stall ; to keep 
secret. All's. I, 3, 131. 

stammer. To use language imperfectly. 
Stammers 'em = speaks stammeringly 
concerning them ; does them but small 
justice. Skeat. Kins. II, 1, 26. 

stamp, n. 1, At our stamp (Mids. Ill, 
2, 25), i.e., at hearing the footsteps of 
the fairies, which were powerful enough 
to rock the ground. See IV, 1, 85. 
Wright. Johnson could not see how 
the stamps of fairies could be heard, 
and read stump, the idea being that the 
"patches" were tripped up by some 
stump well known to the fairies. Fur- 
ness gives a note from Allen (MS.) to 
the effect that: "It cannot be our; 
there was no xve in the case; [have 
fairies no editors to disseminate their 
news?] no fairy but Puck alone ; and it 
was nobody's stamp that made the boors 
scatter ; it was merely the sight of 
Bottom's new head. Pe^'haps: ' at one 
stamp ' — as we might say at one bound, 
at one rush ; * * * anticipative of 
stampede.'''' 

2. A coin. Wiv. Ill, 4, 16 ; Cym. V, 4, 24. 

In the passage in Mcb. IV, 3, 153, 

Hanging a. golden stanix> about their 

necks, the stamp was the coin called an 

angel. See angel (6). Also evil (2). 

Holinshed thus describes the gift of 
curing the evil which was alleged to 
exist in the person of Edward the Con- 
fessor : " As it has been thought, he was 
inspired with the gift of prophecy, and 



also to have the gift of healing infirmi- 
ties and diseases. He used to help those 
that were vexed with the disease com- 
monly called the king's evil, and left 
that virtue as it were a portion of in- 
heritance unto his successors the kings 
of this realm. ' ' According to the Claren- 
don ed., " there is no warrant in Holin- 
shed for the statement that the Con- 
fessor hung a golden coin or stamp 
about the necks of the patients. This 
was, however, a custom which prevailed 
in later days. Previously to Charles 
II's time some current coin, as an angel, 
was used for the purpose, but in Charles's 
reign a special medal was struck and 
called a ' touch piece. ' The identical 
touch piece which Queen Anne hung 
round the neck of Dr. Johnson is pre- 
served in the British Museum." 

stamp, V. To give currency to. Cor. V, 
o oo 

stand. The station or hiding-place of a 
huntsman waiting for game. Wiv. V, 
5, 248; Cym. Ill, 4, 111 ; LLL. IV, 1, 
10 ; 3HVI. Ill, 1, 3. Some of the editors 
appear to suppose that stands were 
only for the use of lady hunters, but it 
is evident from some of these passages 
that this is a mistake. Rolfe. 
. standing bowl. A footed goblet. Per. 
II, 3, 64. 

standing=tuck. A rapier standing on 
end. IHIV. II, 4, 274. Not hyphenated 
in the old editions. 

staniel. Another name for the kestrel or 
windhover, an inferior but beautiful 
species of falcon. Tw. II, 5, 124. The 
word in the Fl. is stallion; "the men- 
tion of ' wings ' and ' checking ' makes 
Hanmer's stanyel an emendatio cer- 
tissima.'" Furness. 

Stanley, Sir John, dr.p. 2HVI. 

Stanley, Lord, dr.p. Called also Earl of 
Derby. RIII. 

Stanley, Sir William, dr.p. 3HVI. 

star. "A celestial body shining in the 
night." Schm,idt. 

In IHIV. I, 2, 16 ; 2HIV. II, 4, 201, 
and Lr. I, 5, 38, we find references to 
the seven stars. This term is usually 



STA 



310 



STA 



understood to refer to the Pleiades, a 
well-known group of stars whose rising, 
in ancient times, was supposed to indi- 
cate the time of safe navigation. The 
actual number of stars in the group, 
when seen through a telescope of very- 
moderate power, is quite large, but to 
the ordinary eye only six are visible, 
and hence the tradition of a lost Pleiad. 
It is said, however, that some eyes can 
clearly distinguish a seventh. They 
are referred to in Job xxxviii, 31, in a 
way which shows the regard in which 
they were held in ancient times, and 
Tennyson's lines in " Locksley Hall" 
must be familiar to all readers : 

Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising 

thro' the mellow shade, 
Glitter like a swarm of flre-flies tangled 

in a silver braid. 

Furness, in a note on Lr. I, 5, 38, 
expresses the opinion that the Great 
Bear, known also as The Dipper and as 
Charles's Wain, was meant, his chief 
reason being that these "seven stars 
are the most conspicuous group in the 
circle of perpetual apparition in the 
Northern Hemisphere, so conspicuous, 
indeed, that the Latin word for ' North ' 
was derived from them. See Septen- 
trion. But while the stars of the Great 
Bear are much more brilliant than those 
of the Pleiades, the close grouping of 
the latter make them, if anything, more 
notable as a constellation. 

The reference in Hml. I, 1, 36, yond 
same star thaVs westward from the 
pole, is to a star the identity of which 
could be determined only if we knew 
the hour and season when the observa- 
tion was made. It certainly cannot be 
" polar is or the pole star " as stated in 
a recent Shakespearean text-book. 

The watery star (Wint. I, 2, 1) and 
the moist star (Hml. I, 1, 118) both 
mean the moon. Compare Mids. II, 1, 
104 — the moon the governess of floods. 
Pale in her anger, washes all the air. 
Upon this passage Marshall comments : 
" Every one must have seen the moon 
when she is pale coloured and blurred 



with a faintly luminous mist, in which 
state she is generally called by country 
people ' a wet moon. ' This appearance 
of the moon is one of the most unfailing 
precursors of rainy weather." 

In Hml. I, 1, the passage including 
lines 117 and 118 is held by most coms. 
to be hopelessly corrupt. Furness fills 
nearly two pages with the various 
attempts that have been made to make 
it read well, but none is satisfactory. 
In the 3rd Var. the line immediately 
preceding 117 is left blank (a mere suc- 
cession of dashes), and the Cambridge 
Shakespeare follows this example, in 
both cases indicating that a line is sup- 
posed to have been dropped out. It 
may be well to note that lines 108 to 
135 are not found in the Fl. A very 
superficial reading of the lines 116, 117 
and 118 as they stand in the Globe ed. 
shows that something is wanting : 

Did squeak and gibber in the Roman 

streets : 
As stars with trains of fire and dews 

of blood 
Disasters in the sun ; and the moist 

star, etc. 

As in many other passages, although 
the continuity of the speech is evidently 
broken, the general sense is clear enough. 
The expression. Earth treading stars 
that make dark heaven light (Rom. I, 
2, 25), has called forth emendations 
from Warbirrton {dark even) \ Mason 
{heaven'' s light) ; Daniel {that mock 
dark heaven^s light). But surely no 
emendation is required. We speak 
of a fire actually "illuminating the 
heavens," and the gorgeous beauties 
which Capulet had in mind might be 
supposed to do so metaphorically. 
2. Sphere ; fortune. Hml. II, 2, 141. 
c/. Tw. II, 5, 156. 

stark. Stiff. Rom. IV, 1, 103 ; Cym. IV, 
2, 209. "Stark and stiff" is an ac- 
knowledged pleonasm, but a very old 
expression. 

starkly. Stiffly. Meas. IV, 2, 70. 

starred. Fated. Wint. Ill, 2, 100. 

starve. In Sh. time this word signified 



STA 



811 



STI 



not only to inflict or to suffer from 
hunger, but from cold, and the word is 
still used in this sense in many parts of 
Ireland — one of the numerous survivals 
of the Elizabethan language in that 
country. Gent. IV, 4, 159 ; 2HVI. Ill, 
1, 343 ; Tit. Ill, 1, 252 ; Cym. I, 4, 180. 

The word starveth, as found in Rom. 
V, 1, 70, was changed to stareth by 
Rowe who followed Otvvay's modified 
plagiarism of the line in his Caius 
Marius. Many eds., including Dyce, 
Singer, Grant White (Riverside ed.) 
have adopted the emendation, which 
has been strongly defended by Ritson. 

Starveling the Tailor, d7\2). Mids. 

state. 1. The chair in which persons of 
very high office are seated. T w. II, 5, 50. 
2. A person of high rank. John II, 1, 
395; Troil. II, 3, 118 ; Cym. Ill, 4, 39. 

station. Act or mode of standing. Mcb. 
V, 8, 42 ; Hml. Ill, 4, 58 ; Ant. Ill, 3, 22. 

statist. A statesman. Hml. V, 2, 33 ; 
Cym. II, 4, 16. 

statua. A statue. RIII. Ill, 7, 25. So 
written in this and other passages where 
the metre requires a trisyllabic word. 

statue. Image. Gent. IV, 4, 206. 

statute. A bond ; obligation ; security. 
Sonn. CXXXIV, 9 ; Hml. V, 1, 113. 

statute caps. Woollen caps ordered by 
Act of Parliament (passed in 1571) to be 
worn on Sabbath days and holidays by 
all persons above the age of six years, 
with the exception of the nobility and 
a few others. The act was passed for 
the benefit of the cappers or cap-makers, 
and the penalty for violating it was ten 
groats. The obvious meaning of the 
passage (LLL. V, 2, 281) is that Better 
wits may be found ainongst the coni- 
tnon people. 

staves. The wood of the lances and 
sometimes used for the lances them- 
selves. Mcb. V, 7, 18 ; RIII. V, 3, 65. 

Some light will be thrown on the 
second passage if we remember that it 
was usual to carry more than one into 
the field, and hence the lightness of 
them was an object of consequence. 
Steevens. 



stead. 1. To profit; to be of advantage; 
to help. Tp. I, 2, 165; Gent. II, 1, 119 ; 
Meas. I, 4, 17 ; Merch. I, 3, 7. 
2. With ttp; to supply ; to replace. Meas. 
Ill, 1, 260. 

stealers. Seepicfcers. 

steep down. Precipitous. 0th. V, 2, 380. 

stelled. 1. Starry; stellar. Lr. Ill, 7, 61. 
2. Fixed. Lucr. 1,444; Sonn. XXIV, 1. 
It has been suggested that in the latter 
passages the word is a variant of stalled 
or placed in a stall. Others regard the 
word as a doubtful reading. 

Stephano, dr.p. A drunken butler. Tp. 

Stephano, dr.p. Servant to Portia. 
Merch. 

sternage. Steerage. HV. Ill, Prol. 18. 

sticking place. This expression, as found 
in Mcb. I, 7, 60, is "a metaphor, per- 
haps, taken from the screwing-up the 
chords of string-instruments to their 
proper degree of tension, when the peg 
remains fast in its sticking-place, i.e., 
in the place from which it is not to 
move." Steevens. 

stickler. " A stickler was one who stood 
by to part the combatants when victory 
could be determined without bloodshed. 
They are often mentioned by Sidney. 
'Anthony,' says Sir Thomas North in 
his translation of ' Plutarch,' ' was him- 
self in person a stickler to part the 
young men when they had fought 
enough.' " Steevens. 

stickler=like. Like a stickler. Troil. V, 
8, 18. 

stigmatic. One on whom nature has set 
a mark of deformity — a stigma. 2HVI. 
V, 1, 215 ; 3HVI. II, 2, 136. 

stigmatical. Deformed. Err. IV, 2, 22. 

stile. A device for passing over a fence, 
usually consisting of a double set of 
stairs. Wint. IV, 3, 133. 

In Ado. V, 2, 6, In so high a style, 
Margaret, that no man living shall 
come over it, Delius sees a pun on style 
and stile, and again a play on the words 
"come over it," which may mean either 
to surpass or to cross over it. In the 
PI. the word is spelt stile. See also LLL, 
I, 1, 201, and IV, 1, 98. See stair. 



STI 



312 



STO 



still, adv. Constantly. Tp. I, 2, 229 ; 

RIII. IV, 4, 344. 
still, adj. Constant ; continual. Tit. Ill, 

2, 45. (Silent ; calm ; patient. Schmidt. ) 
still=stand. An absolute stop. 2HIV. II, 

3, 64. We now invert the order of the 
two words and use "stand-still." 

stilly. Softly. HV. IV, Prol. 5. 

stinking. It was suggested by Mason 
that stinking, as it occurs in Lr. II, 4, 
72, should read sinking as being more 
expressive of fallen fortunes, and re- 
ferred to Ant. Ill, 10, 26, for confirma- 
tion of this view; upon which Malone 
made the following remark : "Mankind, 
says the fool, may be divided into those 
who can see and those who are blind. 
All men, but blind men, though they 
follow their noses, are led by their eyes ; 
and this class of mankind, seeing the 
king ruined, have all deserted him : 
with respect to the other class, the blind, 
who have nothing but their noses to 
guide them, they also fly equally from 
a king whose foi'tunes are declining ; 
for of the noses of twenty blind men 
there is not one but can smell him, who 
'being muddy 'd in fortune's mood, 
smells somewhat strongly of her dis- 
pleasure.' [All's. V, 2, 4.] You need 
not therefore be surprised at Lear's 
coming with so small a train." 

stint. To cease. Rom. I, 3, 48 ; Per. IV, 

4, 42. 

stithy, n. A smith's forge ; literally, the 
place where the stith or anvil (Scotch, 
studdy or stuthy) stands. Hml. Ill, 2, 89. 

stithy, V. To forge ; to form on an anvil. 
Troil. IV, 5, 255. 

stoccado, ) A thrust in fencing. Wiv. 

stoccata. \ II, 1, 234; Rom. Ill, 1, 77. 

stock, n. 1. A stocking. Gent. Ill, 1, 
312 ; Shr. Ill, 2, 67. 

2. A thrust in fencing ; a stoccado. Wiv. 
II, 3, 26. 

stock, V. To put in the stocks. Lr. II, 
2, 139 ; do. II, 4, 191. 

stock=fish. Dried cod. Meas. Ill, 2, 116 ; 
IHIV. II, 4, 271. Make a stock-fish of 
thee == beat thee as stock-fish is beaten 
before it is boiled. Tp. Ill, 2, 79. 



stockings, tall. "Stockings drawn high 
above the knee." Fairholt. HVIII. I, 
3, 30. 

stomach, n. 1. Anger; resentment. Gent. 
I, 2, 68 ; IHVI. I, 3, 90 ; Lr. V, 3, 74. 

2. Courage ; stubbornness. Tp. I, 2, 
157; 2HIV. I, 1, 129. See quotation 
from Rastell under Richard Coeur-de~ 
Lion. 

3. Pride; arrogance. Shr. V, 2, 176; 
HVIII. IV, 2, 34. 

stomach, v. To be angry at ; to resent. 
Ant. Ill, 4, 12 ; do. II, 2, 9. 

stone=bow. A cross-bow from which 
stones or bullets were shot. T w. II, 5, 51. 

stones, a philosopher's two. Warbur- 
ton explains Falstaff's expression, I will 
make him a philosopher'' s two stones 
to me (2HIV. Ill, 2, 35.5), thus: "One 
of which was an universal medicine, 
and the other a transmuter of base 
metals into gold." Johnson took ex- 
ception to the assertion that the uni- 
versal medicine was a stone and sug- 
gested that Falstaff meant a stone of 
twice the value of the usually recognised 
philosopher's stone. That the elixir was 
supposed to be a stone is shown by a 
passage in Churchyard's " Commenda- 
tion," etc. (1593) : 

Wrate sundry workes, as well doth 

yet appeare 
Of stone for gold, and shewed plaine 

and cleare, 
A stone for health. 

Falstaff evidently meant that he would 
get health and wealth from Shallow. 
He got the wealth to the extent of a 
thousand pounds. (See 2HIV. V, 5, 12.) 
The 3rd Var., Vol. XVII, p. 141, et seq., 
contains lengthy notes on the point. 

stool ball. A game still played in some 
parts of England. It is played only by 
women and girls and is almost like 
cricket. Kins. V, 2, 69. 

stool for a witch. Upon this expression, 
which occurs in Troil. II, 1, 46, Johnson 
has the following note: "In one way 
of trying a witch they used to place 
her upon a chair or stool, with her legs 
tied across, that all the weight of her 



STO 



313 



STR 



body might rest upon her seat ; and by 
that means, after some time, the cir- 
culation of the blood in some hours 
would be much stopt, and her sitting 
would be as painful as the wooden 
horse." 

stoop. To swoop or pounce down upon 
prey. HV. IV, 1, 113 ; Cym. V, 3, 42. 

stop. In Mids. V, 1, 120, this word is, 
according to Wright, a technical term 
in horsemanship, cf. Compl. 109. 

stored. Filled. Per. II, 3, 49. 

stout. Proud ; overbearing. Tw. II, 5, 
185; 2HVI. I, 1, 187. 

stover. Fodder for cattle. Tp. IV, 1, 
63. From estovers, a law term, which 
is so explained in the law dictionaries. 
Both are derived from the old French 
word estouvier, which signifies pro- 
vision. 

Strachy. A title of which no explanation 
has yet been given. Tw. II, 5, 45, 

Furness in his ed. of this play fills 
nearly five pages with suggested emend- 
ations and explanations, but as he him- 
self says, they do not bring us any 
nearer to a true understanding of the 
subject. There needs no ghost come 
from the grave to tell us that in all 
ages there have been women who 
married beneath them, and unless we 
can find the particular story to which 
Malvolio alluded, all conjectures as to 
what Strachy might mean are futile. 
That there was such a story current at 
the time this play was brought out 
and that it appealed to the theatre- 
going public is more than probable, 
but thus far we have found no trace 
of it. 

straight=pight. Straight-built; straight- 
fixed ; standing erect. Cym. V, 5, 164. 

strain, n 1. Difficulty; doubt. Troil. 

I, 3, 326. 

2. Disposition; motion of the mind. Wiv. 

II, 1, 91 ; Ado. II, 1, 394 ; LLL. V, 2, 
770; Troil. II, 2, 113. 

3. Stock ; race. HV. II, 4, 51 ; Tim. I, 
1, 259. 

strain, 17. 1. To filter ; to purify. Troil. 
IV,. 4, 26 ; do, IV, 5, 169. 



2. To wrench ; to constrain. Rom. IV, 
1,47; Merch. IV, 1, 184. 

Strain courtesy = overdo courtesy ; 
to decline to go first. Rom. II, 4, 53. 
On this passage Mr. Staunton observes : 
" When anyone hesitated to take the 
post of honour in a perilous undertaking 
he was sarcastically said to strain 
courtesy. Turberville applies the ex- 
pression to dogs as Sh. does : ' for many 
hounds will strain courtesie at this 
chace.'" 

straited. At a loss; straitened. Wint. 
IV, 4, 365. 

strange. This word literally means ' ' that 
which is without " (Skeat); hence foreign 
and outlandish. Metaphorically, it might 
mean abnormal ; beyond all rule ; extra- 
ordinary. Schm, also gives the mean- 
ing "enormous," no doubt equivalent 
to very great, and in this sense explains 
it as it occurs in Lr. II, 1, 79, in the 
Folios. See strong. 

strangely. 1. As a thing belonging to 
another country or to another people. 
Wint. II, 3, 182. 
2. Distantly ; reservedly ; as if unac- 
quainted. Sonn. XLIX, 5 ; 2HIV. V, 
2, 63 ; Troil. Ill, 3, 39. 

strangeness. Reserve; coyness; distant 
behavior. Ven. 310; Tw. IV, 1, 16; 
Troil. Ill, 3, 45. 

stranger, n. A foreigner. HVIII. II, 
2, 102. 

stranger, adj. Foreign. John V, 2, 27. 

strappado. "A military punishment. 
* * * the term is evidently taken 
from the Italian strappare, to pull or 
draw with violence." Douce. IHIV. 
II, 4, 262. 

Holmes, in his " Academy of Armory 
and Blazon," thus describes it: "The 
Half Strappado is to have the Mans 
hands tyed behind his Back, and so by 
them to be drawn up to a considerable 
height, and so let down again ; this, in 
the least of it, cannot but pull either 
the Shoulders or Elbows or both out of 
Joynt.— The Whole Strappado is when 
the person is drawn up to his height, 
and then suddenly to let him fall half 



STR 



314 



STY 



way with a jerk, which not only break- 
eth his Arms to pieces, but also shaketh 
all his Joynts out of Joint ; which 
Punishment is better to be Hanged than 
for a Man to Undergo." 

Strato, dr. p. Servant to Brutus. Caes. 

straw. " A wisp, or small twist of straw 
or hay, was often applied as a mark of 
opprobrium to an immodest woman, a 
S6old, or similar offender; even the 
showing it to a woman was, there- 
fore, considered as a grievous affront." 
Nares. 3HVI. II, 2, 144. 

strewments. Strewing ; things strewed. 
Hml. V, 1, 256. From the context 
{virgin crantz, maiden strewments) 
and what is afterwards said, this term 
seems to refer to more than the mere 
affectionate strewing of flowers upon 
the grave, such as the queen offered. 
Was it the strewing of earth on the 
coffin— "Dust to dust"? Evidently 
some special ceremony. See priest. 

stricture. Strictness. Meas. I, 3, 13. 

strike. 1. A naval term signifying to 
submit ; to give way. 2HIV. V, 2, 18 ; 
RII. II, 1, 266. 

2. To tap ; to broach. Ant. II, 7, 103. 
The word strike in this passage puzzled 
Johnson, Steevens, Ritson, Holt White 
and many others. Some claim that it 
means to strike the drinking cups to- 
gether as is now the custom with some 
drinkers, and as is supposed to be meant 
by lago in his song, "Let me the cana- 
kin clink, clink." See clink. 

It occurs in the sense of broach in 
Prior's " Alma " : 

L'Avare, not using half his store. 
Still grumbles that he has no more ; 
Strikes not the present tun, for fear 
The vintage should be bad next year. 
Etc., etc. 

3. To blast ; to destroy (used in regard 
to planetary influences). Wint. I, 2, 
201; Hml. 1,1,162. 

striker. A thief; a robber; a dissolute 
fellow. IHIV. II, 1, 82. " Long-staff 
sixpenny strikers = " fellows that in- 
fest the road with long staffs and knock 
naen down for sixpence." Johnson, 



Malone says that " a sfHfcer had some 
cant signification with which at present 
we are not exactly acquainted." In 
Greene's "Art of Coney catching " (1592) 
under the table of " Cant Expressions 
used by Thieves," the cutting a pocket 
or picking a purse is called "striking," 
and in "A Collection of the Canting 
Words and Terms, both Ancient and 
Modern, used by Beggars, etc.," ap- 
pended to Vol. II of Bailey's Dictionary 
(1760), the definition given of the word 
strike is "to beg ; to rob ; also to borrow 
money," and a long list of expressions 
containing the word is given. The word 
has to-day the same meaning in modern 
slang, and ' ' to strike any one " is a 
well-known expression. 

strong. Reckless ; determined. Tim. IV, 
3, 45 ; Lr. II, 1, 79. In the latter pass- 
age the word is strong in the Qnartos, 
strange in the Folios. Both the Cam- 
bridge and the Globe eds. read strong, 
and this is the reading in the g.a. text. 
See strange. 

strossers. Trousers ; tight drawers or 
breeches. HV. Ill, 7, 57. 

stuck. Stoccado, a thrust in fencing; 
more properly stock, a contraction of 
stoccado. Tw. Ill, 4, 303 ; Hml. IV, 7, 
162. In some eds. stuckin or stuck-in. 

studied. Practised. Merch. II, 2, 211; 
Mcb. I, 4, 9. 

stuff. The most important element ; the 
essential part. 0th. I, 2, 2. 

stumbling night. A night which causes 
one to stumble. John V, 5, 18. 

Styga. Per Styga, per Manes vehor 
(Latin) = I am borne through the Styx, 
through the kingdom of the dead. Tit. 
II, 1, 135. 

style, n. Title. Large style = long list 
of titles. 2HVI. I, 1, 111. See stile. 

style, V. To fix or determine the style or 
rank. Kins. I, 1, 83. 

Styx. The principal river in the nether 
world, around which it flows seven 
times. The name is derived from the 
Greek verb to hate or to abhor. Styx 
is described as a daughter of Oceanus 
and Tethys. As a nymph she dwelt at 



SUB 



315 



SUG 



the entrance of Hades, in a lofty grotto 
which was supported by silver columns. 
As a river, Styx is described as a 
branch of Oceanus, flowing from its 
tenth source; and the River Cocytus, 
again, is a branch of the Styx. By 
Pallas, Styx became the mother of 
Zelus (zeal), Nice (victory), Bia (strength) 
and Cratos (power). She was the first 
of all the immortals who took her 
children to Jupiter to assist him against 
the Titans ; and in return for this, her 
children were allowed forever to live 
with Jupiter, and Styx herself became 
the divinity by whom the most solemn 
oaths were sworn. When one of the 
gods had to take an oath by Styx, Iris 
fetched a cup full of water from the 
Styx, and the god, while taking the 
oath, poured out the water. See Charon. 

subscribe. To yield ; to give up. 2HVI. 
Ill, 1, 38 ; Troil. IV, 5, 105 ; Tit. IV, 2, 
130 ; Lr. I, 2, 24. 

The passage in Lr. Ill, 7, 65, All 
cruels else subscribed, is rather obscure. 
The Folios read subscribe; the Quartos 
subscriVd. That the word here means 
yielded or submitted seems the general 
opinion ; cruels is held by some to mean 
cruel creatures like the wolves men- 
tioned two lines above ; others think it 
means cruel habits, acts or practices. 
Craig, in his ed. of Lear, just out, ex- 
plains it thus : " gave up for a time their 
cruel habits and fierceness" — "their" 
evidently referring to the wolves. Fur- 
ness, after quoting many comments, 
says : " This is to me the most puzzling 
phrase in this play, more puzzling even 
than ' runaways' eyes ' or ' the dram of 
eale. ' * * * None of the interpreta- 
tions are to my mind satisfactory. ' ' His 
explanation in condensed form is : 
"Acknowledge the claims of all crea- 
tures, however cruel they may be at 
other times." 

subscription. Submission ; obedience ; 
allegiance. Lr. Ill, 2, 18. 

substractors. Probably Sir Toby's blun- 
der for detractors. Tw, I, 8, 37. It is 
,a, curious fact that subtraction is fre- 



quently pronounced substruction in 
some parts of Great Britain. 

subtilties. Referring to this word, as it 
occurs in Tp. V, 1, 124, Steevens says : 
" This is a phrase adopted from ancient 
cookery and confectionary. When a 
dish was so contrived as to appear un- 
like what it really was, they called it a 
subtilty. Dragons, castles, trees, etc., 
made out of sugar had the like denomin- 
ation. * * * Froissart complains much 
of this practice, which often led him 
into mistakes at dinner. 

success. 1. Succession. 2HIV. IV, 2, 47. 
In whose success (Wint. I, 2, 394) = in 
succession from whom. Johnson. 
2. Issue ; consequence. 0th. Ill, 3, 222. 
In this passage the word has its radical 
or etymological sense of succeeding or 
following after and does not in any 
degree carry its present meaning of good 
fortune. 

successantly. In succession. Tit. IV, 
4, 112. 

successor. Having a right of succession or 
inheritance. Sonn. CXXVII, 3 ; 2HVL 
III, 1, 49 ; Tit. I, 1, 4. 

sucking dove. Wright calls attention to 
Bottom's "blunder of 'sucking dove' 
for 'sucking lamb.' " Mids. I, 2, 85. Is 
it a blunder ? Has Wright given care- 
ful attention to the manner in which 
young doves are fed ? Did he ever hear 
of "dove's milk"? Sh. knew some 
things which even the coms. do not 
seem to know. 

suffer'd. Let alone; allowed to go on. 
2HVL III, 2, 262. 

Suffolk, Duke of, dr.p. A Lancastrian. 
2HVI. 

Suffolk, Duke of, dr.p. HVIII. 

Suffolk, Earl of, dr.p. Afterwards duke. 
IHVI. and 2HVI. 

suggest. To tempt ; to seduce. Gent. 
Ill, 1, 34 ; All's. IV, 5, 47 ; HVIII. I, 
1, 164; 0th. II, 3, 358. "The verb 
to suggest, in Sh., has generally the 
sense of to tempt, to incite to evil." 
Craig. 

suggestion. Temptation; seduction. An 
expression taken from Holinshed, meaH- 



SUF 



316 



SUN 



ing, perhaps, any underhand practice. 
2HIV. IV, 4, 45 ; HVIII. IV, 2, 35. 
sufferance. 1. Connivance. As. II, 2, 3. 

2. Death by execution. HV. II, 2, 159. 

3. Damage ; loss. Oth. II, 1, 23. 

4. Suffering. Troil. I, 1, 28. 
suffigance. Dogberry's blunder for suf- 
ficient. Ado. Ill, 5, 56. 

suit. To clothe ; to dress. As. I, 3, 118 ; 

Cym. V, 1, 23. 
sullen. Sad ; melancholy. John 1, 1, 28 ; 

2HIV. I, 1, 102. 
sullens. Moroseness ; dumps. RII. II, 

1, 139. 
summer. When Sh. makes Perdita say 

(Wint. IV, 4, 107) : 

These are flowers 
Of middle summer, and, I think, they 

are given 
To men of middle age, 

he, no doubt, had in mind that in 
heraldry certain flovs^ers were, as the 
heralds say, "given" to certain ages. 
Hunter ("New Illustrations," Vol. I, 
p. 420) quotes from Sir John Feme's 
" Blazon of Gentry " (1586) as folio vs^s : 

Infancy.— The Lilly and White Rose. 
Puerility.— The Blue Lilly. 
Adolescence.— The Mary Gold. 
Lusty Green Youth.— All manner of 

verdures or green things. 
Virility.— Gillofer and Red Rose. 
Grey Hairs.— The Violet. 
Decrepitude. — The Aubifaine. 

The word aiibifaine is not to be found 
in our dictionaries, but Cotgrave gives 
" Aubifoiu : the weed Blew-bottle, Blew- 
blow, Corne-flower, Hurtsickle." 

La Pucelle's promise in IHVI. I, 2, 
131, Expect St. Martin''s Summer, 
halcyon days, means: "Expect pros- 
perity after misfortune, like fair weather 
at Martlemas, after winter has begun." 
Johnson. Saint Martin's Day is the 
11th of November, and about this time 
there is frequently a period of mild 
weather, which in Great Britain is 
called St. Martin's summer. It seems 
to correspond to our Indian summer. 
So that La Pucelle means to say, in 
other vrords, after the winter of mis- 



fortune will come the summer of suc- 
cess. See halcyon. 

For all-hallown summer see all- 
hallown, and for middle summer''s 
spring see spring. 

summered. Provided, as cattle are with 
pasture. HV. V, 2, 334. 

sumpter. A sumpter-horse is a pack- 
horse ; a horse that carries provisions, 
etc. In Lr. II, 4, 219, the word is usu- 
ally explained as " a pack- horse driver," 
but more probably it has the meaning 
given by Cotgrave, s.v. "Sommier: 
A sumpter-horse ; (and generally any 
toyling, and load-carrying, drudge, or 
groome. ) 

sun. The proverb which Kent in his 
soliloquy addresses to Eang Lear : Thou 
out of heaven'' s benediction comestto 
the warm sun (Lr, II, 2, 169) is fre- 
quently found in the literature of that 
time. The meaning is obviously to go 
from better to worse, but how it came 
to take this form is not so clear. Han- 
mer observes that it is a proverbial 
saying, applied to those who are turned 
out of house and home to the open 
weather; to which Johnson adds: "It 
was perhaps used of men dismissed from 
an hospital, or house of charity, such 
as was erected formerly in many places 
for travellers. Those houses had names 
properly enough alluded to by heaven^s 
benediction.''^ Furness, following Ma- 
lone, objects that Lear "is not yet 
homeless. " How Furness could be thus 
misled is a puzzle to me. Lear had just 
been turned away from Goneril'shome; 
on going to Regan's he had found the 
place closed and the owners departed for 
the castle of Gloucester, whither he fol- 
lows them only to be turned out except 
upon conditions to which his kingly pride 
would not submit. It is true that Lear 
had not yet found this out, but shrewd 
old Kent, in whose mouth the speech is 
put, saw it all clearly, and events turned 
out precisely as Hanmer's interpretation 
describes — the old king was at that very 
time practically turned out of house 
and home. The most recent attempt at 



SITN 



317 



SUB 



explanation is that of Craig in his ed. of 
Lear, p. 93 : " Can it refer to the folly 
of leaving some grateful and beneficent 
shade, as of a spreading tree, to journey 
or toil in the extreme heat of the mid- 
day sun?" Did Craig have in mind that 
passage in Isaiah xxxii, 2: "As the 
shadow of a great rock in a weary 
land " ? See sun-burnt. 

Referring to Hamlet's speech, / mn 
too much V the sun (Hml. I, 2, 67), 
Dowden remarks: "Hamlet's delight 
in ambiguous and double meanings 
makes it probable that a play is intended 
on 'sun ' and 'son.' He is too much in 
the sunshine of the court, and too much 
in the relation of son — son to a dead 
father, son to an incestuous mother, son 
to an uncle-father. It was suggested by 
Johnson that there is an allusion to the 
proverbial expression (see Lear II, 2, 
168) : ' Out of heaven's blessing into the 
warm sun,' which means to be out of 
house and home ; Hamlet is deprived of 
the throne. Schmidt takes it to mean 
merely, 'I am more idle and careless 
than I ought to be. ' " 

Our half -faced sun. This expression, 
found in 2HVI. IV, 1, 98, is thus ex- 
plained : " Edward the third bare for 
his device the rays of the sun dispersing 
themselves out of a cloud." Camden 
quoted by Dyce. The motto, Invitis 
nubibus, means : In spite of the clouds. 
sun=burnt. This word, as it occurs in 
Ado. II, 1, 331, Thus goes every one to 
the world, but /, and I am sun-burnt, 
has received various explanations. 
Steevens says sun-burnt means: "I 
have lost my beauty and am conse- 
quently no longer such an object as can 
tempt a man to marry." And Collier 
says the meaning is : " her beauty is 
damaged." Hunter, in his "New Illus- 
trations," devotes four pages and a half 
to showing that the expression "sun- 
burnt " meant destitute of family rela- 
tions, and paraphrases the passage as 
follows: "Thus every one finds her 
mate and I am left alone in the world, 
a solitary woman." 



Halliwell, Staunton, Wright and Rolfe 
seem to agree with Steevens, but Fur- 
ness accepts Hunter's explanation on 
the ground that " any interpretation is 
better than that of supposing that 
Beatrice was angling for a compliment, 
which the disparaging remark of a 
woman on her own good looks always 
is. " In this it seems to me that Furness 
is unquestionably right. 

That sun-burnt had generally the 
plain, obvious meaning of tanned by 
the sun, as in Tp. IV, 1, 134, and con- 
sequently connoted the destruction of 
beauty, as in HV. V, 2, 154, and Troil. 
I, 3, 282, is unquestionable. But it may 
also have had an idiomatic meaning, 
and this it probably has in Ado. See 
world. 

Sundays. Benedict's expression : Sigh 
away Sundays (Ado. I, 1, 204), is said 
by Warburton to be a proverbial one to 
signify that " a man has no rest at all," 
but there is no instance of such a pro- 
verb. Wright explains it as, "when 
you will have most leisure to reflect on 
your captive condition "; to which Fur- 
ness adds: "And when, owing to the 
domesticity of the day, you cannot 
escape from your yoke-fellow." 

superflux. Superfluity. Lr. Ill, 4, 35. 

supervise, ) Inspection ; mere sight of. 

supervize. f Hml. V, 2, 23. 

suppliance. Supply ; gratification ; diver- 
sion. Hml. I, 3, 9. 

suppliant. Auxiliary; furnishing sup- 
plies. Cym. Ill, 7, 14. Spelt supplyant 
in some eds. 

supply. 1. To gratify; to content. Meas. 
V, 1, 212 ; 0th. IV, 1, 28. 
2. To fill a place. Shr. Ill, 2,249; Tw. 
I, 1, 38. 

supposal. Opinion. Hml. I, 2, 18. 

supposes, n. Tricks ; deceptions ; assumed 
characters. Shr. V, 1, 120. 

sur=>addition. Extra title; surname. Cym. 
I, 1, 33. 

surcease, n. Cessation ; stop ; death. 
Mcb. I, 7, 4. 

surcease, v. To cease. Cor. Ill, 2, 121 ; 
Rom. IV, 1, 67. 



STIR 



318 



SWE 



Sure^card. A name which occurs in 
2HIV. Ill, 2, 95. 

This was a term used for a boon com- 
panion, so lately as the latter end of 
the last century, by one of the trans- 
lators of Suetonius. It is observable 
that many of Sh. names are invented 
and characteristical. Master Foi^th- 
light, the tilter; Master Shoe-tie, the 
traveller ; Master Smooth, the silkman, 
etc., etc. Malone. To which we may 
add Borachio, which in Spanish signifies 
a vessel made of the skin of a beast 
in which wine is kept; figuratively, a 
drunkard. 

sur=reined. Over-ridden ; used up. HV. 
Ill, 5, 19. 

Surrey, Duke of, dr. p. RII. 

Surrey, Earl of, dr.p. Son to the Duke 
of Norfolk. RIII. and HVIII. 

suspire. To breathe. 2HIV. IV, 5, 33 ; 
John III, 4, 80. 

swabber. The one who sweeps the deck ; 
a very inferior personage in the ship's 
crew. Tp. II, 2, 48; Tw. I, 5, 217. In 
the latter passage Viola takes up the 
nautical metaphor of hoist sail and 
turns it contemptuously against Maria. 
Rolfe. 

swart. Black. Err. Ill, 2, 104; John 
III, 1, 46 ; Tit. II, 3, 73 ; Gent. II, 6, 26. 
In some eds. swarthy or swarty. 

Swarth, n. A corruption of swath (1), a 
heaped row of mown grass. Tw. II, 
3, 162. 

swasher. A braggart ; a bully. HV. 
Ill, 2, 30. 

swashing. 1. Swaggering; hectoring. As. 
I, 3, 122. 

2. Sweeping ; crushing. Rom. I, 1, 70. 
This word is washing in the Folios and 
in the 2nd and 3rd Quartos; swashing 
in 4th and 5th Quartos. 

It is possible that washing may be 
right, as it seems that it was a technical 
term in quarter-staff play. 

swath. 1. A line of grass as it is cut 
and thrown in a lengthened heap by the 
scythe. Troil. V, 5, 25. 
2. The bandages wrapped round new- 
born children. Tim. IV, 3, 252. 



swathling. Same as swaddling ; bandages 
for new-born children. IHIV. Ill, 2, 113. 

sway. To move. 2HIV. IV, 1, 24. 

swear. Thou swear'' st thy gods in vain. 
Lr. 1, 1, 163. The preposition by is here 
omitted ; Sh. frequently omits such 
prepositions. See " Sh. Gram. , " § 200. 

The passage in Wint. I, 2, 424, Swear 
his thought over by each particular 
star in heaven, is said by Dr. Furness 
not to be obscure. Nevertheless it has 
been the subject of some comment and 
emendation. The meaning is obvious : 
Even if you should outswear his asser- 
tions you cannot overcome his jealousy. 
Hotspur's injunction to his wife (IHIV. 
II, 1, 258), Swear me Kate, like a lady, 
receives'the following note from Clarke: 
" Very characteristic of Harry Percy 
in his wishing his wife to abjure minc- 
ing oaths, and to come out with good 
round sonorous ones. Her Majesty 
Queen Elizabeth's wonted imprecations 
were of this kind ; and some of them, 
recorded as being familiar in her mouth, 
were of a character sufiiciently potential 
to become the lips of the daughter of 
Henry VIII., and warrant the drama- 
tist in making Hotspur say ' Like a lady 
as thou art ' to his wife. " 

swearer. One who uses profane language, 
hence, a dissolute person. Per. IV, 6, 13. 

sweet. Perfumed. Tit. II, 4, 6 ; Rom, 
V, 3, 14. See rosemary. 

sweet and twenty. See twenty. 

sweeting. 1. A kind of apple used for 
sauce. Rom. II, 4, 83. 
2. A term of endearment. Shr. IV, 3, 
36 ; 0th. II, 3, 2.52, 

sweetmeats. As mentioned in Rom, I, 
4, 76, are explained by Malone as " kiss- 
ing-comfits. These artificial aids to per- 
fume the breath are mentioned by 
Falstaff in the last act of the M. W. 
of W.," and this gloss has been accepted 
by most coms,, Rolfe, Schmidt, Dowden 
and even the sagacious Dr. Furness. I 
regard it as very doubtful. The breath 
was probably tainted by the indigestion 
caused by eating articles of various 
kinds preserved in sugar or honej^. 



SWI 



319 



SYM 



which was extensively used for sugar 
in the old times. That Sh. recognised 
the effects of sweets on digestion is seen 
in RII. I, 3, 286, Things sweet to taste 
prove in digestion sour. So in Mids. I, 
1, 34, sweetmeats probably meant no 
more than sweet articles. Kissing- 
comfits were, no doubt, extensively used, 
but were called by their proper name. 

swift. Prompt ; ready. Ado. Ill, 1, 89 ; 
LLL. Ill, 1, 63; As. V, 4, 65. "Swift 
had a special meaning, 'ready at re- 
plies,' or, as we should say, 'good at 
repartee.'" Marshall. 

switch and spurs. In the Fl. swits and 
spurs. By this Romeo means, " whip 
up your flagging wits." Rom. II, 4, 70. 
See wild-goose. 

swill. To swallow ; to gulp down. HV. 

III, 1, 14. 

swinge. To beat ; to strike. Gent. II, 
1, 91 ; Wiv. V, 5, 197 ; 2HIV. V, 4, 23. 

Swinge=buckler. A roisterer ; a swash- 
buckler. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 24. 

Swithold. Probably a corruption of Saint 
Vitalis, a saint that was specially in- 
voked against the night-mare. Lr. Ill, 
4,125. The 3rd Var., Vol. X, p. 160, 
has a couple of pages of notes on this 
subject. See also the ed. of Lear by 
Furuess, p. 195. See wold. 

Switzers. Hired guards, so called because 
at first they came from Switzerland. 
Malone quotes Nash, "Christ's Teares 
over Jerusalem" (1594) : "Law, logicke 
and the Switzers may be hired to fight for 
anybody." But Reed says : " In many 
of our old plays the guards attendant 
on kings are called * Switzers,' and that 
without any regard to the country 
where the scene lies." Hml. IV, 5, 97. 

Swoop=stake. Wholesale ; entirely. Hml. 

IV, 5, 141. Swoopstakes or sweepstakes 
is a game of cards in which a player 
may win all the stakes or take all the 
tricks. 

sword=and=buckler. " When the rapier 
and dagger were introduced they be- 
came the distinctive weapons of gentle- 
men, while the sword and buckler were 
used by serving men and brawling, 



riotous fellows ; therefore, Percy coins 
this epithet for Prince Hal, to intimate 
that he was but one of those low and 
vulgar fellows with whom he was 
associated." Clarke. IHIV. I, 3, 230. 
Stowe speaks of a time "when every 
serving-man, from the base to the best, 
carried a buckler at his back, which 
hung by the hilt or pomel of his sword, " 
and Steevens, in confirmation, says : 
" I have now before me a poem entitled 
' Sword and Buckler, or The Serving- 
Man's Defence,' by William Bas, 1602." 

sworder. A gladiator. 2HVI. IV, 1, 135. 

sworn=brother. This word is not hyphen- 
ated in the Fl. , and many eds. follow 
that text. Furness thinks, however, 
that Capell was " unquestionably right 
in joining these two words with a 
hyphen." On the meaning of the word 
as it occurs in Ado. I, 1, 73, Hunter 
("New Illustrations," Vol. I, p. 244), 
has the following note : "This is one of 
the popular phrases of England to 
denote strict alliances and amities, and 
has survived the recollection of the 
circumstances in which the term arose. 
The fratres conjurati were persons 
linked together in small fellowships, 
perhaps not more than two, who under- 
took to defend and assist each other in 
a military expedition under the sanction 
of some stricter tie than that which 
binds the individuals composing a whole 
army to each other. They are found 
in genuine history as well as in the 
romances of chivalry." cf. IHIV. II, 
4,7. 

swound. To swoon. Rom. II, 2, 56. 

'swounds. See zounds. 

Sycorax. The name of Caliban's mother. 
"Tp. I, 2, 258, etc. Of this name Ruskin, 
in his ' ' Munera Pul veris, ' ' says : ' ' Pros- 
per© [which signifies for hope], a true 
governor, is opposed to Sycorax, the 
mother of slavery, her name, 'Swine- 
raven,' indicating at once brutality and 
deathf ulness. " 

Sylvius, dr.p. A shepherd. As. 

sympathy. Equality; just proportion. 
0th. II, 1, 232. 



TAB 



320 



TAI 




ABLE. 1. Referring to Rom. 
I, 5, 29, turn the tables up, 
Steevens says: "Before this 
phrase is generally intelligible, 
it should be observed that ancient tables 
were flat leaves, joined by hinges, and 
placed on trestles. When they were to 
be removed, they were therefore turned 
up." Toone, s.v. board, says "they 
were loose boards." It is doubtful if 
they were merely hinged and laid on 
trestles; this would make a very un- 
reliable support ; it is more likely that 
they were battened and that the turning 
up was simply standing them on edge. 
In this way they would occupy but little 
room, less, indeed, than if they were 
hinged. See board. 

2. The canvas or panel on which a pic- 
ture is painted. John II, 1, 503. 

3. The palm of the hand or, rather, " the 
space between certain lines on the skin 
within the hand." Halliwell. Nares 
says : " The whole collection of lines on 
the skin within the hand." A term in 
palmistry. Merch. II, 2, 174. 

tabled. Set down. Cym. I, 4, 7. 
tables. 1. Tablets; a pocket-book for 
containing memoranda, usually made 
of prepared ass's skin. Hml. I, 5, 107. 
See relative. 

2. The game of backgammon. LLL. V, 
2, 327. Nares gives a quotation from 
the " Witts Recreation" : 
Man's life's a game at tables, and he 

may 
Mend his bad fortune by his wiser play. 

tackled stair. A rope-ladder. Rom. II, 
4, 203. 

tabor. A small drum, beaten with a 
single stick, and generally accompanied 
by a pipe which the taborer played 
himself. Douce tells us that "this in- 
strument is found in the hands of fools 
long before the time of Sh." Tw. Ill, 
1, 2 and 10 ; Tp. IV, 1, 175; Wint. IV, 
4, 183. 



taborer. A player on the tabor. Tp. 
Ill, 2, 160. 

tabourine. A drum. Troil. IV, 5, 275 ; 
Ant. IV, 8, 37. " The tambourine, both 
of ancient and modern times, seems to 
be a different thing, having parchment 
on one side only, and played with the 
fingers." Nares. 

taffeta. A thin, soft silk. LLL. V, 3, 
159 ; Tw. II, 4, 76. See snipt. 

tag. The mob; the common people. Cor. 
Ill, 1,247. 

tag=rag people. The common people; 
the "great unwashed." Caes. I, 2, 259. 

tailor. See prick. 

tailor cries. This expression (Mids. II, 1, 
54) has never been satisfactorily ex- 
plained. Johnson says: "The custom 
of crying tailor at a sudden fall back- 
ward I think I remember to have ob- 
served. He that slips beside his chair 
falls as a tailor squats upon his board." 
Furness says : "It needs scarcely an 
ounce of civet to sweeten the imagina- 
tion if it be suggested that the slight 
substitution of an e for an o in the word 
' tailor ' will show that, as boys in 
swimming take a ' header ' the wisest 
Aunt was subjected to the opposite." 
These explanations might be accepted 
if the expression had been uttered by 
the spectators, but as Sh. puts it in the 
mouth of the subject of the accident 
they seem to me untenable. In the ed. 
of Nares, by Halliwell and Wright, 
taylor or tailor is given as equivalent 
to thief, which has always been a com- 
mon term of reproach, and they quote 
" Pasquil's Night-Cap " : 

Thieving is now an occupation made. 
Though men the name of tailor do it 
give. 
This seems the most probable explana- 
tion. A suggested reading is rails or 
cries for tailor cries; another suggested 
emendation is traitor for tailor, but 
here, as elsewhere, emendations are out 



TAI 



321 



TAN 



of place when a good, sound sense may 
be obtained from the text as it stands. 

taint, p.^. Used instead of tainted. IHVI. 
V, 3, 183. 

tainture. Defilement. 2HVI. II, 1, 188. 

take. 1. To infect; to bewitch. Wiv. 

IV, 4, 32 ; Wint. IV, 4, 119 ; Hml. I, 1, 
163 ; Lr. II, 4, 166. 

2. To take out = to copy. Oth. Ill, 4, 
179. 

3. Take up = make up. As. V, 4, 104 ; 
Tw. Ill, 4, 323. 

4. Take up = reprove. Gent. I, 2, 132. 

5. Take me with yon = make me under- 
stand you. Rom. Ill, 5, 142. 

6. Took it at his death = at his death 
protested^or took it on his oath. John 
I, 1, 110. See also IHIV. II, 4, 9, and 

V, 4, 154. 

Take this fro'tn this, if this be other- 
wise. Hml. II, 2, 157. " Theobald here 
added a stage direction, ' Pointing to 
his head and shoulders ' ; he has been 
followed by many editors. Stage tra- 
dition may have guided Theobald. But 
see lines 166, 167. May not ' this from 
this ' mean the chamberlain's staff or 
wand and the hand which bears it ?" 
Dowden, This stage direction is adopted 
in the Cambridge, the G-lobe, Furness's 
Var. and almost all eds. since Theobald. 
But I think that, " in contempt of ques- 
tion," Dowden is right. 
Talbot, John, dr.p. Son to Lord Talbot. 

IHVI. 
Talbot, Lord, dr.p. Afterwards Earl of 

Shrewsbury. IHVI. 
tale. Reckoning ; counting. Mcb. I, 3, 
97. The sentence in the Fl. is : 
As thick as tale 
Can post with post : 
and the meaning usually given is : As 
fast as the posts could be counted. 
In modern eds. the reading is : 
As thick as hail 
Came post with post : 
In the Globe ed. the Glossary defines 
"tale" in this passage as above, but 
the text gives the second reading ! 
alents. 1. In most modern eds. means a 
; sum of money. Cym. I, 6, 80. 



2. A locket containing hair or other 
souvenir. Compl. 204. 

In LLL. IV, 2, 65, Dull puns on talent 
and talon. Talon is spelt talent in the 
old eds. 

tall. Able ; bold ; strong. Merch. Ill, 1, 
6 ; Oth. II, 1, 79 ; Wiv.^II, 1, 237 ; Rom. 
II, 4, 31. 

taller. Stronger ; more robust. Shr. IV, 
1,11. 

tallow=catch. It is uncertain whether 
tallow-ketch (= a tub of tallow) or tal- 
low-keech (= the tallow of an animal 
rolled into a lump or "keech" to be 
sent to the chandler) is meant in IHIV. 
II, 4, 252. Either reading makes good 
sense. 

tame. Spiritless; cowardly. Wiv. Ill, 
5, 153 ; Mids. Ill, 2, 259. 

The passage in Lr. IV, 6, 225, made 
tame to fortune'' s blows reads lame by 
in the Quartos. Malone retained this 
reading on account of its similarity to 
Sonn. XXXVII, 3, So I, made lame by 
fortune''s dearest spight. 

Tamora, dr.p. Queen of the Goths. Tit. 

tang, n. A sharp sound. Tp. II, 2, 52. 

tang, V. To utter with a sharp voice. 
Tw. II, 5, 163. 

tanling. One who is scorched or tanned 
by the sun. Cym. IV, 4, 29. 

Tantalus. The particulars of his history 
vary, but all authorities agree that he 
was a very wealthy king, some say of 
Lydia, others of Argos or Corinth. The 
legend goes that he was the son of 
Jupiter and Pluto who was the daughter 
of Oceanus and Tethys. He is celebrated 
in ancient story for the very severe 
punishment inflicted upon him in the 
lower world after hife death. Various 
reasons are given for this punishment, 
but the one most generally accepted is 
that Jupiter invited him to his table 
and communicated to h:lm his divine 
counsels. Tantalus divulged the secrets 
intrusted to him, and the gods punished 
him by placing him in the nether world 
in the midst of a lake, but rendering it 
impossible for him to drink when he 
was thirsty, the water always receding 



TAR 



TAS 



when he stooped, towards it. Moreover, 
branches laden with fruit hung over 
his head, but when he stretched forth 
his hand to reach them they withdrew. 
And over his head was suspended a 
huge rock ever threatening to crush 
him. This story gave rise to a proverb 
amongst the ancients and from it the 
English have derived the verb to " tan- 
talize," i.e., to hold out hopes or pros- 
pects which cannot be realized. 

Another tradition relates that he, 

wanting to try the gods, cut his son, 

Pelops in pieces, boiled them and set 

them before the immortals. See Pelops. 

Tantalus is referred to in Ven. 599, 

and Lucr. 858, 

tarre. To set on (as if a dog) ; to urge 

on. John IV, 1, 117; Troil. I, 3, 392; 

Hml. II, 2, 370. 

tarriance. The act of tarrying; delay. 

Genf. II, 7, 90 ; Pilgr. 74. 
Tartar. 1. A native of Tartary. Wiv. 
IV, 5, 21 ; Merch. IV, 1, 32. 

On the passage in Rom. I, 4, 5, a Tar- 
tar''s painted bow of lath, Douce re- 
marks that Tartarian bows resembled 
in their form the old Roman or Cupid's 
bow, such as we see on medals and bas- 
reliefs. Sh. uses the epithet to distin- 
guish it from the English bow, whose 
shape is the segment of a circle. 
2. Hell. Tw. II, 5, 225 ; HV. II, 2, 123. 
In Err. IV, 2, 32, a comparison is made 
between a prison (for which hell was 
the cant term) and the real hell. See 
hell. 
task. 1. To tax (as ask was sometimes 
spelt ax in old writings). IHIV. IV, 
3,92. 

2. To challenge. IHIV. V, 2, 51. 

3. To keep busy ; to occupy. Wiv. IV, 
6, 30 ; HV. I, 2, 6. 

tassel=gentle. Properly tercel-gentle or 
tiercel-gentle, the male of the goshawk. 
Rom. II, 2, 160. 

"Tiercel or tassel is the general name 
of the male of all large hawks. ' ' Holme's 
"Academy of Armoiy and Blazon." 
"This bird is said to have been called 
gentle on account of its tractable dis- 



position and the ease with which it was 
tamed." Dyce, Madden notes that in 
using the term there was a subtle 
tribute paid by Juliet to her lover's 
nobility of nature. See tercel. 
taste. The original meaning of taste was 
to touch, to feel carefully, and it was de- 
rived, through several mutations, from 
the Latin tangere. See Skeat, s.v. taste. 
Hence it came to mean to try, to test, 
although the latter is an entirely differ- 
ent word and from an entirely differ- 
ent root. The word taste has now lost 
much of its old sense, but even in Sh. 
time it retained the meaning of to try. 
Troil. Ill, 2, 98 ; Tw. Ill, 4, 267. In 
his speech : Taste your legs, sir; put 
them to motion (Tw. Ill,- 1, 87), Toby 
uses the word in a sense quite common 
in Sh., but Viola's reply, that she does 
not understand what he means by 
bidding her "taste her legs," has mis- 
led the coms. Hotspur uses the word 
in the same sense in IHIV. IV, 1, 119, 
Come, let me taste my horse, (over- 
looked by Schm.), where "taste" does 
not mean to test the actual flavor of 
horse-flesh. And yet Halliwell tells us 
that " Sir Toby is perhaps ridiculing 
the effeminate appearance of Viola and 
tells her to taste her legs, they are so 
tender and delicate." ! ! And so Rolfe, 
misled no doubt by Schm. , says : " Prob- 
ably meant as another bit of affectation, 
and not an ordinary metaphor, 'like 
taste their valour ' in III, 4, 267." I do 
not think so. Toby uses the word in 
a sense evidently quite common at the 
time, but Viola puns upon it, gives it 
the meaning found in Rom. I, 3, 30, 
when it did taste the wormwood, and 
pretends not to understand. It was 
Viola, not Sir Toby, who used "a bit 
of affectation," and she would probably 
have continued it if Olivia had not ap- 
peared just at that moment. The ex- 
pression "taste their valour," in III, 4, 
267, is not "an ordinary metaphor," 
but a legitimate use of the word in its 
original sense which it had not then 
quite lost. 



TAT 



TEL 



The expression, who did taste to hiin? 
in John V, 6, 28, and also the passages 
in RII. V, 5, 99, and Kins. V, 3, 23, 
refer to the old practice of having a 
prominent oflBcial taste all food offered 
to kings and other great personages as 
a precaution against poison. Dyce says : 
" Allusions to the royal taster, whose 
'oflGlce it was to give the say (prae libare), 
to taste and declare the goodness of the 
wine and dishes." By "goodness " Dyce 
probably means freedom from anything 
injurious. 

tattering. In the Fl. (John V, 5, 7) this 
word is tott'ring. Pope suggested 
tattered, and Malone tattering, which 
emendation is adopted in the G-lobe ed. ; 
tottering in the Cambridge. Some ex- 
plain the word as torn or ragged ; others 
as waving. 

Taurus, dr. p. Lieutenant - General to 
Octavius Caesar. Ant. 

Taurus. The Bull, one of the signs of the 
Zodiac. Tw. I, 3, 147; Tit. IV, 3, 69. 
Johnson remarks that the allusion in 
Tw. is to the medical astrology still 
preserved in almanacs which refers the 
affections of particular parts of the 
body to the predominance of particular 
constellations. As Douce says, both 
knights are wrong in their astrology 
according to the almanacs of the time, 
which make Taurus govern the neck 
and throat. Their ignorance is, perhaps, 
intentional. Upon which Furness re- 
marks that Sir Andrew's ignorance was 
genuine, but Sir Toby wanted merely a 
pretext for a coarse allusion. 

tavern. It was the custom in old times 
and, indeed, is yet the pi'actice in some 
old-fashioned places, to give a fancy 
name to each room in the house, as, for 
example, " The Bunch of Grapes " (Meas. 
II, 1, 133); "The Half-Moon" (IHIV. 
II, 4, 31); "The Pomgarnet" (Pome- 
granate) (IHIV. II, 4, 42). At the 
present day, at the Shakespeare Hotel, 
in Stratford, the rooms, instead of being 
numbered, are named after the Shake- 
spearean plays. Rooms in mansions 
and palaces were also so named, as the 



"Jerusalem Chamber," 2HIV. IV, 5, 
235. 

tawdry=Iace. A rustic necklace. Wint, 
IV, 4, 253. Tawdry is a corruption of 
Saint Audrey or Ethelreda, on whose 
day, the 17th of October, a fair was 
held in the Isle of Ely, where gay toys 
of all sorts were sold. There is a tradi- 
tion that St. Audrey died of a swelling 
in the throat which she considered a 
special judgment for having been ad- 
dicted to wearing fine necklaces in her 
youth. 

tax. To censure ; to condemn ; to re- 
proach. Meas. II, 4, 79 ; Troil. I, 3, 197 ; 
Hml. I, 4, 18 ; Hml. Ill, 3, 29. Now 
used in the sense of to accuse, cf. task. 

taxation. 1. Demand ; claim. Tw. I, 5, 
225. 

2. Censure; satire; invective. As. I, 2, 91. 

You'll be whipped for taxation one 

of these days (As. I, 2, 91) = you'll be 

whipped for using your tongue too 

freely. 

Tearsheet, Doll, dr. p. A woman of bad 
repute. 2HIV. See road. 

tedious. The brief and the tedious of 
it — Parolles form for the long and the 
short of it. All's. II, 3, 34. 

teen. Vexation ; grief ; pain. Ven. 808 ; 
Tp. I, 2, 64; LLL. IV, 3, 164; Rom. I, 
3, 13. In the latter passage the F2. and 
F4. read teeth, which spoils the play on 
fourteen. 

teeth. The expression, did it from his 
teeth, (Ant. Ill, 4, 10) is thus explained 
by Pye : "To appearance only, not 
seriously." He also cites from Dry den's 
Wild Gallant ; " I am confident she is 
only angry from the teeth Outwards,'' 
Dyce. In words merely, not from the 
heart. See tooth-pick and tooth, coWs. 

Telamon. The father of A jax the Great, 
who is therefore frequently called the 
Telamonian Ajax to distinguish him 
from Ajax, the son of Oileus. Telamon 
was the son of ^acus and the brother 
of Peleus. He was one of the Calydonian 
hunters and one of the Argonauts. In 
Ant. IV, 13, 2, the reference to the 
madness of Telamon is no doubt a mis- 



TEI 



324 TEM 



take, Ajax being intended, but in 2HVI. 
V, 1, 26, Ajax is properly called Ajax 
Telamonius and his madness is alluded 
to. He is tnore mad than Telatnon 
for his shield refers, of course, to the 
shield of Achilles, which was the most 
valuable part of the armor, and to the 
dispute with Ulysses in regard to its 
possession. See Ajax. 

tell. To count. Ven. 277; Wint. IV, 4, 
185 ; Lr. II, 4, 55. The word survives 
in the term teller, one who counts votes 
at a meeting. Also one who counts 
money in a bank. Tell ten, that is, 
count ten. " It was a trial of idiocy to 
make the person count his fingers." 
Weber. Kins. Ill, 5, 80. 

Tellus. Another form for Terra, the 
name under which the earth was per- 
sonified among the Romans, as Ge was 
among the Greeks. She was rSgarded 
as one of the deities of the nether world, 
and Hesiod tells us that she was one of 
the first beings that arose out of Chaos 
and that she gave birth to Uranus 
(Coelus) and Pontus. Sh. uses the name 
as a synonym for the earth in Hml. Ill, 
2, 166, and Per. IV, 1, 14. 

temper. The original meaning of this 
word is to make " a right admixture. " 
Thus Trench says: "What has been 
.said under the word 'humour' [see 
Addenda, s. v. humou7^] will also ex- 
plain 'temper,' and the earlier uses of 
it which we meet. The happy 'temper ' 
would be the happy mixture, the blend- 
ing in due proportions of the four prin- 
cipal ' humours ' of the body. ' ' This 
meaning still survives in the use of the 
word in regard to mortar ; the mason 
speaks of "tempering" mortar when 
he works and mixes it ; and this very 
meaning is found in 2HVI. Ill, 1, 311; 
Lr. I, 4, 326 ; Tit. V, 2, 200. Schmidt 
gives a special signification to the word 
in these p^^ssages : "to wet ; to moisten 
(dry things).'' Not at all; the fact of 
moistening, or of the things being dry, is 
a mere accident ; mortar that is too wet 
may be tempered by the addition and 
thorough mixing of dry lime and sand. 



The word has also the same meaning in 
Ado. II, 2, 21 ; Rom. II, Chor. 14; Hml. 
V, 2, 339 ; Cym. V, 5, 250. 

In the case of metals the meaning 
evidently is to give such a mixture of 
qualities (hardness, toughness, elasticity, 
etc.,) as may be best suited to the pur- 
pose in view, Schm. gives the absurd 
definition : " to make hard by cooling." 
But metals may be tempered by ham- 
mering as well as cooling, and hardening 
is not tempering, and never was. It is 
an easy thing to make steel hard, but 
to give it that special mixture of quali- 
ties which fits it for special purposes is 
an art which is not understood even by 
all metal-workers. That Sh. understood 
all this is evident from his writings. 
See ice-brook. In a recent Shake- 
spearean commentary we find the fol- 
lowing : "The way of tempering steel 
is by plunging it red-hot into cold 
water, and the colder the water, the 
higher the temper attained." A sword 
tempered in this way would fly to pieces 
like a strip of glass on the first encounter 
with a Spanish blade. The vitality of 
these absurd views is something wonder- 
ful. Even the scientific Rolfe has em- 
bodied a similar statement (unthink- 
ingly, I have no doubt) in his note on 
0th. V, 2, 253. 

I believe Booth made the subtle sug- 
gestion that when Othello spoke of 
the ice-brook he alluded to the temper- i 
ing of sword blades by means of waters ' 
possessing certain charmed qualities. 
That some of the old fabricators did use 
incantations to cover up their mechani- 
cal secrets is more than probable. That 
the alchemists did so is well known ; and i 
we also know that the ancients attri- 
buted supernatural powers to those j 
streams and fountains which were 
sacred to certain divinities (Naiades) 
who, if properly propitiated, would 
assure success to those who used the 
waters over which they presided. See 
Nymphs 

temperance. Temperature. Tp. II, 1, 42. 

temporize. This word, as a verb, occurs 



TEN 



325 



TEN 



four times in Sh., viz., in Ado. I, 1, 27G ; 
John V, 2, 125; Troil. IV, 4, 6, and 
Cor. IV, 6, 17. Also as tempornzer in 
Wint. I, 2, 303. The meaning now 
usually given to the word temporize is 
to delay, to put off, and this is the 
meaning given to it by Rann in the 
passage from Ado : You will temporize 
with the hours. Schm. explains it as, 
"to come to terms; to compromise," 
and Rolfe, "you will come to terms in 
course of time. " Furness suggests that 
the word should be tetnperise, " that is, 
you will become attempered by the 
hours ; your temper will change and 
become more pliant and yielding." It 
seems to me that tempering or modifica- 
tion is, as Furness indicates, the chief 
idea conveyed by Sh. in his use of the 
word. 

tend. To attend. Hml. IV, 3, 47 ; Mcb. 
I, 5, 38. 

tender, i;. To take care of ; to treat with 
kindness ; to have consideration for. 
Tw. V, 1, 129 ; RII. I, 1, 32 ; RIII. II, 
4,72; Rom. Ill, 1,74. 

The phrase which occurs in Hml. I, 3, 
107: tender yourself more dearly; 
Or — not to crack the wind of the poor 
phrase, Running it thus — you''ll tender 
me a fool, has received various inter- 
pretations. Dowden asks : " Does this 
mean. You will present yourself to me 
as a fool ? or, present me to the public 
as a fool?" There is evidently a play 
upon the word tender. Rolfe and Fur- 
ness are both silent in regard to it ; the 
3rd Var. has several notes, but none 
very satisfactory. 

tender=hefted. The expression, thy ten- 
der-hefted nature shall not give thee 
d^er to harshness (Lr. II, 4, 174), has 
never been clearly explained. The 
words are hyphenated in the Fl. 
Steevens says : '•'•Hefted seems to mean 
the same as heaved. Tender-hefted, 
i.e., whose bosom is agitated by tender 
passions. * * * Shakespeare uses hefts 
for heavings in Wint. II, 1, 45. Both 
the Quartos, however, read ' tender- 
hested ' nature ; which may mean a 



nature which is governed by gentle 
dispositions. Hest is an old word signi- 
fying command." Rowe emended to 
tender-hearted. The coms. have gone 
to a good deal of unnecessary ti'ouble to 
prove that haft or heft means a handle. 
Of course it does ; the word in this sense 
being common. And reference is made 
to Cotgrave and others to show that 
the corresponding French word em- 
manche (helved) was used in reference 
to the person. This would make tender- 
hefted = set in a delicate bodily frame, 
and Wright, who suggests this inter- 
pretation, states that Regan was less 
masculine than Goneril — a somewhat 
bold assertion in the face of the fact 
that Regan was the one who seized a 
sword and slew the servant who pro- 
tested against the tearing out of Glou- 
cester's eyes. Grant White says that 
"'tender-hefted' is inexplicable con- 
sistently with common sense and Shake- 
speare's use of language. " The "finely 
sheathed" or "delicately housed" gloss 
he pronounces " a most manifest mare's 
nest, and one at which every editor of 
Shakespeare must have looked and 
passed by on the other side. Lear's 
thought has no reference to Regan's 
body but to her soul. * * * There 
is possibly a misprint of tender-hearted, 
although we all shun such a simple 
relief of our difficulty, and linger in the 
sweet obscurity of tender-hefted.''^ Of 
"tender-hearted" Rolfe says: it "is 
' tolerable and not to be endured. ' Sh. 
could never have written 'tender- 
hearted nature. ' " A somewhat danger- 
ous assertion. 

Among the many desperate attempts 
to make sense of the passage, Craig, in 
the latest ed. of this play, picks up a 
Shropshire meaning for the word: "a 
dead heft = a weight that cannot be 
lifted," and suggests that " tender- 
hefted might simply mean 'pliable, 
manageable.' " He then falls into the 
singular mistake of saying that " 'hefty' 
has in Ainerica the meaning of easy to 
lift or handle. " Speaking for that part 



TEN 



TES 



of America known as the United States, 
I should say that the meaning is just 
the opposite. Hefty simply means heavy 
(heft being an old form of heaved)^ and 
a thing that is hefty is one that is not 
easily lifted. 

tent, n. A probe for searching a wound. 
Troil. II, 2, 16; do. V, 1, 11. In the 
latter passage there is a pun on tent, 
which signifies both a temporary house 
and a surgeon's probe. 

tent, u 1. To probe. Hml. II, 2,626; 
Cym. Ill, 4, 118. 

2. To cure. Cor. I, 9, 31. cf. untented. 

3. To lodge as in a tent. Cor. Ill, 2, 116. 
tercel. The male of the goshawk, ac- 
cording to Nares, but Cotgrave (s.v. 
tiercelet) says it is the tassel or male 
"of any kind of Hawke." The word 
literally means "thirdling," and Cot- 
grave says it was " so tearmed, because 
he is, commonly, a third part lesse then 
the female." Others say that the name 
originated in the popular belief that the 
female hawk laid three eggs and that 
the third or last laid was sure to pro- 
duce a male. The falcon was the female 
hawk, and in the nomenclature of 
hawking there were several kinds of 
falcons, but the male corresponding to 
each kind was called the tercel. See 
Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes," Book 
I, chap. 2. 

The falcon as the tercel, for all the 
ducks V the river (Troil. Ill, 2, 56) has 
been the subject of emendation. Rowe 
and Pope read has the tercel; Tyrwhitt 
conjectured at the tercel. Cressida, of 
course, was the falcon and Troilus the 
tercel, and the meaning suggested by 
Tyrwhitt is that Cressida would make 
the attack. There seems to be no need 
of emendation ; the meaning is that 
Cressida is the equal of Troilus, and on 
this Pandarus is willing to bet "all the 
ducks i' the river," not that Cressida 
will take to the water and go duck- 
hunting as some have explained it. See 
tassel-gentle. 

Tereus. See Philomel. 

Termagant. According to the Crusaders 



and old romance-writers, Termagant, 
Termagaunt or Turmagant was a god 
of the Saracens. Like Herod, he was 
often introduced into the early Miracle- 
or Mystery-plays and was represented 
as a most violent character. IHIV. V, 
4, 114; Hml. 111,2, 15. 

termless. Indescribable. Compl. 94. 

terms. The expression, recollected terms 
(Tw. II, 4, 5), is somewhat obscure. 
Knight says that "term" forms no 
part of the technical language of music 
and suggests tunes as an emendment. 
Perhaps the word may have been turns, 
defined in the Cent. Diet. (6) as "a 
melodic embellishment or grace, etc." 
Whether or not this word was in use in 
the time of Sh. I do not know. In in- 
distinct writing turns and terms much 
resemble each other. But see note at 
end of she. Wright explains the word 
as " phrases gathered with pains, not 
spontaneous. Knight proposed tunes, 
but we have already had the tunes in 
the ' airs ' and the ' terms ' must there- 
fore be the words set to music. ' ' Wright's 
gloss is unquestionably one of the best 
and clearest. And this is the meaning 
given to " terms " in Ado. V, 2, 41, and 
LLL. V, 2, 406. 

terrene. Earthly. Ant. Ill, 13, 153. 

terrible. Afllrighted ; suffering from 
terror. Lr. I, 2, 32. cf. fear. 

tertian. A fever whose paroxysms re- 
turn every third day, according to 
Bailey, Worcester, Skeat and others; 
every second day, according to Schm., 
Cent. Diet., Imperial, etc. ; Johnson 
says two fits in three days. Mrs. 
Quickly made an obvious jumble when 
she spoke of a " quotidian tertian," but 
the lexicographers seem to be in almost 
as great confusion. HV. II, 1, 124. See 
quotidian. 

test. Testimony ; evidence. Troil. V, 3, 
122 ; 0th. I, 3, 107. 

tester. A slang term for sixpence. 2HI V. 
Ill, 2, 299. Apparently used by Pistol 
for money in general. Wiv. I, 3, 94. 

testern. To give money to (probably 
sixpence). Gent. I, 1, 155. 



TES 



327 



THE 



testril. A' sixpence (probably the clown's 
variant of tester). IV. II, 3, 36. 

testy. Quarrelsomet fretful. Mids. Ill, 
3, 358. 

tetchy. Peevish; touchy. RIII. IV, 4, 169. 

Thaisa, dr.jJ. Daughter to Simonides. 
Per. 

Thaliard, dr. p. A lord of Antioch. Per. 

tharborough. A constable (corrupted 
from third-borough). LLL. I, 1, 185. 
" The office of third-borough is the same 
with that of constable, except in places 
where there are both, in which case the 
former is little more than the constable's 
assistant." Ritson. 

thatched, ^ee Philemon emA visor. 

theatre. The following notes, condensed 
from Vol. Ill of the 3rd Var., throw 
light on many passages and allusions in 
the plays : 

In the time of Sh. there were seven 
principal theatres : three private houses, 
viz., that in Blackfriars, that in White- 
friars, and The Co(^kpit or Phoenix in 
Drury Lane, and four that were called 
public theatres, viz. , The Globe on the 
Bankside, The Curtain in Shoreditch, 
The Red Bull at the upper end of St. 
John's Street, and The Fortune in 
Whitecross Street. The last two were 
chiefly frequented by citizens. There 
were, however, but six companies of 
conaedians, for the playhouse in Black- 
friars and The Globe belonged to the 
same troop. Beside these se ven theatres, 
there were for some time on the Bank- 
side three other public theatres: The 
Swan, The Rose and The Hope ; but The 
Hope being used chiefly as a bear-garden 
and The Swan and The Rose having 
fallen to decay early in King James's 
reign, they ought not to be enumerated 
with the other regular theatres. All 
the established theatres that were open 
in 1598 were either without the city of 
London or its liberties. 

All the plays of Sh. appear to have 
been performed either at The Globe or 
the theatre in Blackfriars. These be- 
longed to the same company of come- 
dians, namely, his majesty's servants. 



which title they obtained after a licence 
had been granted to them by King 
James in 1603. Like the other servants 
of the household, the performei's en- 
rolled into this company were sworn 
into office, and each of them was allowed 
four yards of bastard scarlet for a cloak 
and a quarter of a yard of velvet for 
the cape every second year. 

The Globe was built not long before 
the year 1596 ; it was situated on the 
Bankside (the southern side of the river 
Thames) nearly opposite to Friday 
Street, Cheapside. It was an hexagonal 
building, partly open to the weather 
and partly thatched. Like all the other 
theatres of that time, it was built of 
wood. It was of considerable size, and 
the plays were always acted by day- 
light. On the roof of this and the other 
public theatres a pole was erected, to 
which a flag was affixed. These flags 
were probably displayed only during 
the hours of exhibition ; and it would 
seem from one of the old comedies that 
they were taken down in Lent, in which 
time, in the early part of King James's 
reign, plays were not allowed to be 
represented, though at a subsequent 
period this prohibition was dispensed 
with. It is probable that The Globe 
was denominated only from the sign 
painted on its side. This was a figure 
of Hercules supporting the Globe, under 
which was written : Totus Mundus 
agit histrionem. This theatre was 
burnt down on the 29th of June, 1613, 
but it was rebuilt in the following year 
and decorated with more ornament than 
had been originally bestowed upon it. 
The exhibitions at The Globe seem to 
have been calculated chiefly for the 
lower class of people ; those at Black- 
friars, for a more select and judicious 
audience. One of these theatres was a 
winter and the other a summer house. 
As The Globe was partly exposed to the 
weather, and they acted there usually 
by day-light, it is probable that this 
was the summer house. 

Some difficulty has been occasioned 



THE 



328 



THE 



by the fact that Sh. speaks of The Globe 
theatre as this wooden O (HV. Prol. 13). 
But aside from the license usually ac- 
corded to poets, a hexagon on the scale 
that the theatre was built is near 
enough to a circle to justify the title in 
a general way. 

Many of the ancient dramatic pieces 
were performed in the yards of carriers' 
inns, in which, in the beginning of 
Queen Elizabeth's reign, the comedians, 
who then first united themselves in 
companies, erected an occasional stage. 
The form of these temporary playhouses 
seems to be preserved in our modern 
theatre. The galleries in both are 
ranged over each other on three sides 
of the building. The small rooms under 
the lowest of these galleries answer to 
present boxes, and it is observable that 
these, even in theatres which were built 
in a subsequent period expressly for 
dramatic exhibitions, still I'etained their 
old name and are frequently called 
rooms by the old writers. The yard 
bears a sufficient resemblance to the pit 
as at present in use. We niay suppose 
the stage to have been raised in this 
area, on the fourth side, with its 
back to the gateway of the inn, at 
which the money for admission was 
taken. 

Hence, in the middle of The Globe, 
and probably of other public theatres 
in the time of Bh., there was an open 
yard or area where the common people 
stood to see the exhibition ; from which 
circumstance they are called by our 
author "groundlings," and by Ben 
Jonson " the xiuder standing gentlemen 
of the ground.'''' The galleries, or 
scaffolds as they are sometimes called, 
and that part of the house which in 
private theatres was called the pit, seem 
to have been at the same price, the 
usual cost of admission being sixpence 
in houses of reputation, while in some 
of the meaner theatres it was only a 
penny or, perhaps, twopence. ' The price 
of admission to the best rooms or boxes 
was one shilling in Sh. time, though 



afterwards it rose to two shillings and 
half a crown. 

From several passages in our old plays 
we learn that spectators were admitted 
on the stage and that the critics and 
wits of the time usually sat there. Some 
stood or lounged around ; others sat on 
stools, the price of which was either 
sixpence or a shilling, according to loca- 
tion. And they were attended by pages, 
who furnished them with pipes and 
tobacco, which was smoked here as well 
as in other parts of the house. But it 
would seem that persons were suffered 
to sit on the stage only in the private 
playhouses (such as Blackfriars, etc.) 
where the audience was more select and 
of a higher class ; and that in The Globe 
and the other public theatres no such 
license was permitted. 

The stage was strewed with rushes, 
which in those days formed the usual 
covering for floors. See rush. The 
curtain, instead of being raised as at 
present, was parted in the middle and 
drawn to each side. How little the 
imaginations of the audience were as- 
sisted by scenical deception and how 
much necessity the dramatist had to 
call on them to " piece out imperfections 
with their thoughts ' ' may be collected 
from Sir Philip Sydney, who, describing 
the state of the drama and the stage in 
his time (about 1583), says : " Now you 
shall have three ladies walk to gather 
flowers, and then we must beleeve the 
stage to be a garden. By and by we 
heare news of shipwreck in the same 
place; then we are to blame if we 
accept it not for a rock. Upon the 
back of that comes out a hidious mon- 
ster with fire and smoke ; and then the 
misei'able beholders are bound to take 
it for a cave ; while in the mean time two 
armies fly in, represented with four 
swords and bucklers, and then what 
hard hart wil not receive it for a pitched 
battle." 

At this time all female characters 
were represented by boys. This we have 
noted under the head female actors. 



THE 



THE 



then. The word than is almost always 
spelled then in the old eds., and some 
modern eds. follow the old style. 

theoric. Theory (opposed to practice). 
All's. I, 1, 52 ; IV, 3, 163 ; 0th. I, 1, 24. 
See practiG. 

thereafter. According as. 2HIV. Ill, 
2, 56. Thereafter as they he = accord- 
ing to their condition. 

Thersites, dr. p. This deformed and evil- 
minded Greek is alluded to in Cym. IV, 
2, 252. According to Homer, he was 
the son of Agrius and was the most 
impudent talker among the Greeks at 
Troy. Once, when he had spoken in the 
assembly in an unbecoming manner 
against Agamemnon, he was severely 
chastised by Ulysses. According to the 
later poets, he pulled the eyes out of the 
dead body of Penthesilea, the beautiful 
queen of the Amazons, who had been 
slain by Achilles. For this Achilles 
slew him. See Penthesilea. 

Theseus, dr.p. Duke of Athens. Kins. 

Theseus, dr.p. Duke of Athens. Mids. 
The great hero of Attic legend seems 
to have taken strong hold of the imagin- 
ation of Sh. , for we find him the prin- 
cipal* character in two plays, besides 
being mentioned elsewhere (Gent. IV, 
4, 173) . His reputed father was Neptune 
or Poseidon, and the Troezenians for 
many ages pointed to the Holy Isle 
where his mother, iEthra, met the god. 
But his real father was ^geus. King of 
Athens, who, being childless, went to 
consult the oracle at Delphi, and after- 
wards went to TroBzen where he met 
-(35thra, the daughter of Pittheus, the 
king. Before the birth of Theseus, 
^geus left Troezen, telling ^thra that 
he had deposited his sword and boots 
under a certain heavy rock and that if 
she gave birth to a boy who, on reach- 
ing maturity, should he able to lift the 
rock and remove the sword and boots, 
she was to send him secretly to his 
father at Athens. In due time Theseus 
lifted the rock, secured the sword and 
boots and set out for Athens. Accord- 
ing to some accounts, it was on this 



journey that he slew the robber Cory- 
netes (the club-carrier) and carried off his 
club, and shortly after he killed Sinnis 
and had an adventure with his daughter. 
See Perigenia. He also slew a mon- 
strous boar or sow ; he flung over his own 
cliff, Sciron, who, while his guests were 
perforce washing his feet, used to kick 
them over into the sea; he wrestled 
with and killed Cercyon, and a little 
further on he slew Procrustes, who had 
only one bed for all comers : if his guest 
was too short for the bed, he stretched 
him out ; if he was too long, he cut him 
down. (From his name comes our word 
Procrustean.) As he passed through 
the streets of Athens, his curls and long 
garment, reaching to his ankles, drew 
on him the derision of some masons who 
were putting on the roof of the new 
temple of Apollo Delphinius: "Why," 
they asked, " was such a pretty girl out 
alone?" In reply, Theseus took the 
bullocks out of their cart and flung 
them higher than the roof of the temple. 
He found his father married to Medea, 
the sorceress, who had fled from Corinth. 
Medea knew Theseus before his father 
did and attempted to poison him, but 
^geus recognised the sword and ac- 
knowledged the bearer as his son. The 
sons of Pallas, the brother of ^geus, 
who had hoped to succeed to the sup- 
posedly childless monarch, attempted 
to secure the succession by violence and 
declared war, but were betrayed by the 
herald Leos and were destroyed. 

His next exploit was the capture of 
the flame- spitting bull of Marathon 
which he brought alive to Athens and 
sacrificed to Apollo. The time now 
arrived when the Athenians had to send 
to Minos (see Minos) their tribute of 
seven youths and seven maidens. The- 
seus voluntarily offered himself as one 
of the youths with the design of slaying 
the Minotaur or perishing in the attempt. 
When they reached Crete, Ariadne, 
daughter of Minos, fell in love with 
Theseus and provided him with a sword, 
with which he killed the Minotaur, and 



THE 



330 



THI 



a clue of thread by which he was able 
to retrace his steps and escape from the 
labyrinth. After a time, Theseus set 
sail from Crete, taking Ariadne with 
him, but he abandoned her on the island 
of Naxos. Gent. IV, 4, 173 ; Mids. II, 
1, 80. The vessel on which the youths 
and maidens sailed carried a black sail, 
and Theseus promised his father that if 
they were successful and returned in 
safety the black sail should be changed 
for a white one. But he forgot his 
promise, and when old -iEgeus saw the 
black sail he threw himself down from 
the cliff on which he had been watching 
and was killed. 

Of his adventures with the Amazons 
there are different accounts. Some give 
the name of the Amazon queen who 
opposed him as Antiope ; others make 
it Hippolyta. Other accounts say that 
Antiope and Hippolyta were sisters and 
that Theseus made love to both. 

However we may reject many of the 
evidently fabulous stories and adven- 
tures which relate to Theseus, his legend 
seems to contain recollections of his- 
torical events, the most important of 
which was the unification of the various 
small townships into the single nation- 
ality of Attica. 

Thessaly. A district which in ancient 
times formed the northeastern division 
of Greece. In it are the mountains 
Ossa, Pelion and Othrys, and through 
it ran the river Peneus which traversed 
the famous vale of Tempe. Many of its 
cities, mountains and valleys were cele- 
brated in Grecian history and its in- 
habitants were aristocratic and pro- 
Persian. Explanations of the references 
to Thessaly will be found under boar 
and Meleager. 

Thetis. A marine divinity, one of the 
daughters of Nereus and Doris. She 
was the wife of Peleus, by whom she 
became the mother of Achilles. Her 
wedding was attended by all the gods 
except Bris or Strife. See Paris. Like 
her sisters, the Nereids, she dwelt in the 
depths of the sea with her father, Nereus. 



In Troil. I, 3, 39, and Per. IV, 4, 39, her 
name is used as a personification of the 
sea, and in Ant. Ill, 7, 61, Antony 
addresses Cleopatra by this name as if 
she governed the sea. Schni. points out 
that the goddess of the ocean was 
Tethys, the wife of Oceanus, and not 
Thetis. 
thewes, ) Muscles ; sinews. 2HIV. Ill, 
thews. \ 2, 276 ; Cees. I, 3, 81 ; Hml. 

I, 3, 12. 

"It is a remarkable evidence of 
Shakespeare's influence upon the English 
language that while, so far as has yet 
been observed, every other writer, 
one single instance excepted, employs 
' thews ' in the sense of manners, quali- 
ties of mind and disposition, the fact 
that, as often as he employs it, it is in 
the sense of nerves, muscular vigor, has 
quite overborne the other use ; which, 
once so familiar in our literature, has 
now quite passed away. " Trench. See 
also Craik's "English of Shakespeare," 
§124. 

thick, adj. Dim ; with defective sight. 
Wint. I, 2, 269 ; 2HIV. Ill, 2, 336 ; Cses. 
V, 3, 21. 

thick, adv. Rapidly. 2HlV. II, 3, 24 ; 
Mcb. I, 3, 97 ; Cym. I, 6, 67 ; do. Ill, 2, 58. 

thicken. 1. To strengthen. Oth. Ill, 3, 
430. 
2. To grow dim. Mcb. Ill, 2, 50; Ant. 

II, 3, 27. cf. thick. 

thick=eyed. Not <iim-eyed as some have 
it, but the absorbed look of a man in 
deep thought. IHIV. II, 3, 51. 

thick=pleached. Thickly interwoven or 
intertwined. Ado. I, 2, 10. 

thick°skin. A numbskull ; a blockhead. 
Wiv. IV, 5, 2 ; Mids. Ill, 2, 13. Changed 
by Hanmer in the latter passage to 
thick-skull, but unnecessarily ; the word 
was in common use. 

thiII=horse. Shaft-horse. Merch. II, 2, 103. 

thin, too. Not of sufficient substance. 
HVIII. V, 3, 125. This expression, as 
old as Sh., was but a short time ago a 
common ' ' gag ' ' or slang phrase. 

think. " To think or to take thought 
seems formerly to have been used ini the 



I 



THI 



381 



THO 



sense of to give way to sorrow or 
despondency." Craik. Ant. Ill, 13, 3. 
cf. thought. 
third. This word, as it occurs in Tp. IV, 
1, 3, was emended to thread by Theo- 
bald, and in this he is followed by 
Knight, Singer, Staunton, Dyce, Rolfe, 
White,* Symons and others. The Globe 
ed. has the equivalent form thrid. 
That " thrid " is an old form of thread 
is well known, and that the r is one of 
the most commonly transposed letters 
is equally certain. Girdle for griddle 
I have heard time and again. So that 
whether we should use thread or third 
is really a question of interpretation 
rather than of reading. In favor of 
"thread" Dyce says: "In a volume 
which I published in 1853, I observed, 
' In case any future editor should still 
be inclined to make Prospero term 
Miranda ' third of his life ' (the Folio 
having here ' third ' = thrid, thread), 
it may be well to remark that, in the 
language of poetry, from the earliest 
times, a beloved object has always been 
spoken of, not as the third, but as the 
HALF of another's life or soul." And 
he then goes on to cite examples of 
which many may be found. 

Capell, on the other hand, believes 
that if the next line, " Or that for which 
I live," had been "reflected on thor- 
oughly by editors and their remarkers, 
Theobald's correction (thread for third) 
had not been fallen in with so readily, 
for that poetical thread of the fates' 
spinning is not what we live for, but 
what we live by.'' He then assumes 
that the three-thirds of Prospero 's life 



* Dr. Furness says that White, in his first 
ed., adopted " thread," having objected 
to third because it "is rather arith- 
metical than poetical and takes us too 
far into vulgar fractions." He adds 
that White, in his second ed. (the River- 
side), "adopted the arithmetical J^," 
but. by an oversight, no doubt, he omits 
White's note on the word. It is: "a 
third, that is, a thread, by a common 
transposition of r; as bird for brid."" 



are : his realm, his daughter and him- 
self ; the daughter he gives away, keep- 
ing all his concern for her ; the realm 
he hoped to return to, and when retired 
to his Milan, then (as he tells us in 
almost his last speech) "every third 
thought should be his grave," words 
that seem to derive themselves from 
the expression in this passage. Apud 
Furness. 

Furness adds :" Could any one imagine 
Shakespeare talking of 'living for a 
thread of his own life ' ? The true in- 
terpretation, it seems to me, is Capell 's." 
third=borough. A constable. Head-bor- 
ough in PI. (Shr. Ind. 1, 12), but changed 
m the g. a. text to conform to Sly's 
answer. See tharborough. 
Thisbe, dr. p. A character in the Inter- 
lude. Mids. See Pyramiis. 
Thisne. Bottom's blunder for Thisbe 

Mids. I, 2, 55. 
Thomas, dr. p. A friar. Meas. 
Thomas, Duke of Clarence, dr.r). Son 

to Henry IV. 2HIV. 
Thomas Horner, dr.p}. An armorer. 

2HVI. 
Thopas, Sir. So spelt in the Fl. Topas 

in the g. a. text. See Topas. 
though. ^ This word, as it occurs in Tw. 
II, 5, 136, has been explained as = since 
by the Cowden - Clarkes. The same 
meanmg has been given to it in LLL. 
II, 1, 223, though several they be, and 
also in All's. IV, 3, 216, though IknoW 
his brains are forfeit. The word has 
a considerable range of meaning, and it 
is not stretching matters very far to 
to give it this signification in the pass- 
ages cited. It certainly gives better 
sense. 
thought. Anxiety; despondency. Cses 
11 1,187; Hml. IV, 5, 188. cf think. 

The expression, thought is free (Tw. 
I, 3, 72) seems to have been proverbial* 
but, like most such phrases, changeable 
m Its meaning and application. I think 
that what Maria means to say is- "I 
do not wish to call you a fool, but f am 
not prevented from thinking so " 
thought=executing. Executing with the 



THO 



THR 



quickness of thought. Johnson. Ac- 
cording to Moberley: "executing the 
thought of him who casts you." Lr. 
Ill, 2, 4. 
thousand. In Err. IV, 1,21, Dromio of 
Ephesus says : / buy a thousand pound 
a year ! I buy a rope ! — a speech which 
has never been satisfactorily explained. 
It seems to me that all the explanations 
thus far offered only serve to make the 
passage more obscure. 
thrasonical. Extravagant boasting. As. 
V, 2, 34. The word is older than Sh. 
and is derived from the name of Thraso, 
a boastful soldier in Terence's Eu- 
nuchus. 
thread. See thii^d. 

three. Feste's question. Did you never 
see the j^icture of we three ? (Tw. II, 
3, 17) evidently refers to a picture, 
common then as now, in which two 
asses, two wooden-heads or two fools 
are depicted, and underneath is the 
legend : " We three asses be," or what- 
ever the representation might require. 
Furness says that " the clown referred 
to the picture of three fools, and Sir 
Toby retaliated by referring to the 
picture of three asses." 
Three Witches, The, dr. p. Mcb. 
three=farthings. The speech of the Bas- 
tard in John I, 1, 143, "Look where 
three- farthings goes," alludes to the 
three-farthing silver pieces of Queen 
Elizabeth, which were very thin and 
had the profile of the sovereign with 
a rose at the back of her head, and we 
must remember that in Shakespeare's 
time sticking roses in the ear was a 
court fashion. Dyce. 
three=inch fool. A fool three inches high, 
alluding to Grumio's diminutive size. 
Shr. IV, 1,27. 
three=hooped pot. The old drinking pots, 
being of wood, were bound together, as 
barrels are, with hoops ; whence they 
were called hoops. Cade promised that 
every can which then had three hoops 
shall be increased in size so as to re- 
quire ten. Douce. Nash, in his Pierce 
Pennilesse, seijs : "I believe /loopes in 



quart pots were invented to that end, 
that every man should take his hoope 
and no more." 2HVI. IV, 2, 72. 
three=man beetle. A beetle worked by 
three men. 2HIV. 1, 2, 255. " A diver- 
sion is common with boys in Warwick- 
shire and the adjoining counties, on 
finding a toad, to lay a board about two 
or three feet long, at right angles, over 
a stick about two or three inches dia- 
meter. Then, placing the toad at one 
end of the board, the other end is struck 
by a bat or large stick, which throws 
the creature forty or fifty feet perpen- 
dicular fi'om the earth, and its return 
in general kills it. This is called Fillip- 
ing the Toad. A three-man beetle is 
an implement used for driving piles ; it 
is made of a log of wood, about eighteen 
or twenty inches diameter and fourteen 
or fifteen inches thick, with one short 
and two long handles. A man at each 
of the long handles manages the fall of 
the beetle, and a third man, by the short 
handle, assists in raising it to strike the 
Mow. Such an implement was, without 
doubt, very suitable for filliping so 
corpulent a being as Falsta ff . ' ' JohnsoUy 
the architect, quoted by Dyce. 
three=nian song=men. Singers of songs 

in three parts. Wint. IV, 3, 44. 
three°nooked. Having three corners or 
angles. (" Craven Glossary.") Ant. IV, 
6, 6. In John V, 7, 116, we find : Come 
the three corners of the world in arnfis. 
The expression : the three-nooked ivorld 
Shall bear the olive freely, means that 
there shall be universal peace. Thus, 
in 2HIV. IV, 4, 87, we find : But Peace 
puts forth her olive every where. 
three=pile, n. The richest and most costly 

kind of velvet. Wint. IV, 3, 14. 
three=piled. Of first-rate quality. Meas. 

I, 2, 33 ; LLL. V, 2, 407. 
threne. Lamentation ; funeral song. 

Phoen. 49. 
thrice=crowned. Luna, Queen of Night, 
Proserpine, Queen of Hades, and Diana, 
the Goddess of Cliastity, were all 
three sometimes identified in classical 
mythology; hence, the epithet thrice- 



THE 



333 



TIE 



crowned. Hudson. As. Ill, 2, 2. See 
Diana. 

thrice=driveii bed. A driven bed is a 
bed for which the feathers are selected 
by driving with a fan, which separates 
the light from the heavy. Johnson. 
0th. I, 3, 232. 

thrice repured. Three times refined. Troil. 
Ill, 2, 21. 

thrid. Thread ; fibre. Tp. IV, 1, 3. In 
some eds, third.^ q.v. 

throe, %. Extreme pain; agony. HVIII, 
II, 4, 199 ; Tim. V, 1, 203 ; Cym. V, 4, 44. 

throe, V. To pain ; to cause agony. Tp. 
II, 1, 231. 

throng. See/asi ayid loose. 

throstle. A thrush. Mids. Ill, 1, 130. 
A bird closely 'related to the American 
robin and in appearance somewhat re- 
sembling a young robin. 

thrum. The tufted end of a thread in 
weaving. Mids. V, 1, 293. 

thrummed hat. A hat made of very 
coarse woolen cloth. Wiv. IV, 2, 82. 

thumb. See bite. 

thunder stone. A thunder-bolt. Caes. 
1,3,49; Cym. IV, 2, 271. 

" The thunderstone is the imaginary 
product of the thunder, which the 
ancients called Brontia, mentioned by 
Pliny as a species of gem and as that 
which, falling with the lightning, does 
the mischief. It is the fossil commonly 
called the Belemnite, or Finger-stone, 
and now known to be a shell." Craik. 
It is not impossible, however, that the 
opinions of the ancients in regard to 
thunderstones may have been derived 
from the fact that in some cases the 
passage of the electric current through 
the soil produces vitrified tubes known 
as fulgurites. These tubes have often 
been dug up and might readily be taken 
for thunder-bolts or thunder-stones. 
The opinion that the damage caused by 
lightning was produced by a solid pro- 
jectile was very common. Thus Othello 
asks : Are there no stones in heaven 
but what serve for the thunder P 0th. 
V, 2, 235. It is unnecessary to give any 
space to a discussion of modern views 



on the subject as they may be found in 
any work on physics or electricity. 
Thurio, dr.p. A foolish suitor to Silvia. 

Gent. 
thwart. Perverse ; cross. Lr. I, 4, 307. 
Thyreus, dr.p. A friend to Octavius 

Caesar. Ant. 
tickle. Tottering ; unsteady. Meas. I, 2, 
_ 177 ; 2HVI. I, 1, 216. 
tickle=brain. A cant name for a species 
of strong di-ink. Hence, applied meta- 
phorically to a seller of liquor. IHIV. 
II, 4, 438. 

Defined by Cent. Diet, as, " One who 
has a tickle or unsteady brain, as one 
intoxicated." Steevens quotes A New 
TiHck to Cheat the Devil (1636) : 
A cup of Nipsitate brisk and neat, 
The drawers call it tickle-brain. 
tickling. A peculiar method of catching 
trout by tickling them lightly with the 
fingers on the belly. After a little 
practice it is easy to grasp the fish 
behind the gills and lift it out of the 
water. The process is called guddling 
in Scotland, and the writer, when a boy, 
has caught hundreds in this way. Tw. 
II, 5, 26. 
tic k= tack. A sort of backgammon (evi- 
dently a quibble). Meas. I, 2, 202. 
tide. 1. The alternate ebb and flow of 
the sea. HV. II, 3, 14. " It has been 
a very old opinion which Mead, ' De 
Imperio Soils, ' quotes as if he believed 
it, that nobody dies but in the time of 
ebb ; half the deaths in London confute 
the notion; but we find that it was 
common among the women of the poet's 
time." Johnson. 

2. Time, as in Lammas-tide (Rom. I, 3, 
14), even-tide, spring-tide, etc. Hence, 
high-tides (John III, 1, 86) = high times 
or days ; festivals ; solemn seasons ; 
times to be observed above others. 
tie. The passage in Meas. IV, 2, 187, 
Shave the. head and tie the beard, has 
been subjected to emendation. Simpson, 
suggested dye the beard, and this was 
adopted by Grant White in both his eds. 
Theobald conjectured tire, and Dyee 
adopted trim^ the conjecture of Jeryis, 



TIE 



334 



TIN 



Tie has been defended on the ground 
that it was a not unusual practice to tie 
the beard out of the way of the axe. 
Thus Sir Thomas More, when laying 
his head on the block, said to the exe- 
cutioner : " Let me put my beard aside ; 
that hath not committed treason. ' ' But 
this is entirely irrelevant since this 
tying was for the execution, not for ex- 
hibition, Jackson argues that Simpson's 
reading is justified by the passage in 
so. 3, line 76 : A TYicm of Claudio''s 
years ; his beard and head Just of his 
colour. While we are bound to stick 
to the original text where we can make 
good sense, I think it probable that 
"tie " is a printer's error for " die " as 
dye was then spelt. 
tied. See tithed. 
tiercel. See tercel. 

tiger. " It was an ancient belief that 
this animal roared and raged most furi- 
ously in stormy and high winds — a piece 
of folk-lore alluded to in Troil. I, 3, 52, 
by Nestor." Dyer. 
tight. Nimble ; active. Ant. IV, 4, 15. 
tightly. Adroitly; soundly; nimbly. Wiv. 

I, 3, 88 ; do. II, 3, 67. 
tike. A dog ; a cur. Lr. Ill, 6, 73. 
Hence, a term of reproach. HV, II, 1, 
31. The word is still in use in some parts. 
tile. His brains are forfeit to the next 
tile that falls, that is, he is destined to 
run but a short course. All's. IV, 3, 
217. Douce thinks that the illustration 
was taken from a story found in Whit- 
ney's " Emblems. " Three women threw 
dice to ascertain who should die first. 
The loser was disposed to laugh at the 
decrees of Fate, when she was instantly 
killed by the accidental falling of a tile. 
To wash a tile = to labor in vain. 
Kins. Ill, 5, 41. 
tilly=fally. ) An exclamation of con- 
tilly=valley. f tempt, the origin and pre- 
cise meaning of which are alike obscure. 
Tw. II, 3, 83; 2HIV. II, 4, 90. 
tilth. Husbandry ; cultivation ; tillage. 

Tp. II, 1, 1.53 ; Meas. I, 4, 44. 
time goes upright with his carriage. 
Tp. V, 1, 2. " Alluding to one carrying 



a burden : ' This critical period of my 
life proceeds as I could wish.' Time 
brings forward all the expected events 
without faltering under his burden." 
Steevens. 

"The thought is pretty. Time is 
usually represented as an old man al- 
most worn out, and bending under his 
load. He is here painted as in great 
vigour, and walking upright to denote 
that things went prosperously on." 
Warburton. 
Timandra, dr.jJ. Mistress to Alcibiades, 

Tim. 
Time, as Chorus, dr.jJ. Wint. 
timeless. Untimely ; unseasonable ; pre- 
mature. Gent. Ill, 1, 21; RII. IV, 1, 
5 ; Rom. V, 3, 162. 
timely. Early. Pilgr. 133 ; Err. I, 1, 
139 ; Mcb. II, 3, 51 ; do. Ill, 3, 7. Too- 
timely = too early ; too forward. Kins. 
II, 2, 28. 
timely=parted. Having died a natural 
death. Some explain it as recently dead. 
2HVI. Ill, 2, 161. cf ghost. 
Timon, dr. p. A noble Athenian. Tim. 
timorous. Caused by fear. Nothing iron- 
ical in this case as some would have it. 
lago was in dead earnest. 0th. 1, 1, 75. 
tinct. 1. Dye; color; stain. Hml. Ill, 
4, 91 ; Cym. II, 2, 23. 
2. Tincture; the grand elixir of the al- 
chemists. All's. V, 3, 102 ; Ant. I, 5, 37. 
tinder. The invention of the Inciter match 
has so entirely changed our methods of 
lighting lamps and candles and kindling 
fires that many of the expressions in 
Sh. and other old authors are completely 
unintelligible to the people of this gen- 
eration. In the time of Sh. and until 
almost the middle of the last century 
the process used for obtaining fire was 
so tedious and, in many cases, so un- 
certain, that in some houses fires were 
kept in from one year's end to the other, 
and it was no uncommon thing for one 
family to send to another to obtain a 
light or a coal of fire. Hence, every night 
the fire on the hearth, which burned 
wood or peat, was "raked" or covered 
with ashes (Wiv. V, 5, 48) so that the 



TIN 



335 



TIN 



fuel might not burn out and yet, at the 
same time, keep red hot, so that when 
morning came a few puffs from a pair 
of bellows or the mouth would brighten 
it up. When the fire did go out, it was 
generally rekindled by the use of flint 
and steel, tinder and old-fashioned brim- 
stone (sulphur) matches. The tinder 
usually consisted of charred rags, which 
were kept in a tinder-box (Wiv, I, 3, 
27), the common form of which was a 
round tin box with a cover which slipped 
on and was nearly air-tight. A few 
rags being placed in this and set on fire, 




THE OLD FLINT AND STEEL. 

the cover was put on and the fire soon 
went out, leaving a chai"red mass which 
the least spark would ignite. The steel 
was generally made expressly for the 
purpose, though I have used the back 
of the blade of a jack-knife with good 
effect. The regular steel consisted of a 
bar on which a neat handle was forged, as 
shown in the accompanying engraving. 
This made it easy to get a good hold, 
and the knuckles were protected from 
chance blows. The flint consisted of a 
flake with a sharp edge, ^uu-flints being 



frequently used for the purpose. The 
temper of the steel bar was an important 
point, as, if too hard, it was impossible 
to tear off flakes sufficiently large to 
ignite the tinder, and if too soft, the 
force required to tear off bits of the 
steel was not sufficient to ignite them. 
When the steel was of the right degree 
of hardness, an expert could hold it in 
the left hand over the tinder and striking 
it with the flint, giving a scraping action 
to the latter, send down such a shower 
of sparks as would light up a small 
room. With a good steel, a well-shaped 
flint and a sufficient degree of dexterity, 
a single stroke generally ignited the 
tinder all over its surface. But in many 
cases the steel was of poor quality or 
badly tempered ; the flint would get so 
dull that it would slide over the surface 
of the steel instead of tearing into it, 
and it was not every one that had the 
dexterity to give a properly directed 
and effective blow. In addition to this, 
the tinder, even when ignited, would 
not set fire to anything substantial, and 
it was necessary to employ brimstone 
matches to take fire f rona the tinder and 
communicate it to paper, shavings, 
straw and other light material. These 
matches were usually three or four 
times the length of those now in use and 
were tipped with sulphur at both ends. 
This was effected by melting the sulphur 
in any old cup or similar vessel and 
dipping the ends of the matches, a hand- 
ful at a time. In the best matches one 
end was thick while the other tapered 
to a fine point. It would be difficult to 
light a thick match by means of the 
delicate spark of tinder, but a finely- 
pointed one gave no trouble. On the 
other hand, the thick ends were much 
more efficient when a small coal was 
available. 

The flint and steel has been frequently 
used by smokers during recent years, a 
special form of punk or ' ' match ' ' being 
employed. But when used for this pur- 
pose the punk is placed on the flint, 
which is then struck with the steel. It 



TIR 



336 



TIT 



will be readily seen that the description 
which we have just given of this house- 
hold article, conforms to the directions 
given by Brabantio — "strike on the 
tinder." 0th. I, 1, 141. 

The history of the various methods 
which were devised for procuring fire, 
before the introduction of the lucifer 
match, is exceedingly interesting. The 
number of devices which were placed 
on the market was very large, but they 
were all inferior to the flint and steel. 
In 1837 Faraday, probably the best in- 
formed chemist in the world at that 
time, published his " Chemical Manipu- 
lation," and in the second ed., published 
in 1832, he states that he knows no 
better means for lighting the laboratory 
fire than flint and steel. Matches of 
various kinds were sold, but all very 
ineffective and very expensive. I have 
now before me a chemical work, pub- 
lished in 1818, in which matches are 
advertised at 7s. 6d. ($1.80) per box, 
warranted to contain 100. Our present 
matches were introduced about 1837 to 
1840. 

tire=valiant. A fanciful head-dress of 
which we do not seem to have any clear 
description. Wiv. Ill, 3, 60. " 

tire, n. 1. Attire; dress. Wiv. IV, 4, 
73. Tire is the reading in some modern 
eds.; the Folio has time, which many 
eds. think does not make good sense. It 
is retained in the "G-lobe." 

2. Head-dress. Gent. IV, 4, 190 ; Ado. 
Ill, 4, 13. 

3. Furniture; perhaps bed-clothes. Per. 
Ill, 2, 22. 

tire, tj. 1. To dress ; to attire ; to adorn. 
LLL. IV, 2, 131. (The horse adorned 
with ribbons or trappings, not the 
wearied horse.) 

2. To feed ravenously. A term in fal- 
conry frequently applied to other birds 
of prey as well as to hawks. Ven. 56 ; 
3HVI. I, 1, 269 ; Cym. Ill, 4, 97. 

tiring=house. The dressing-room of a 
theatre. Mids. Ill, 1, 5. 

tirrets. Perhaps terrors. One of Mrs. 
Quickly's words. 2HIV. II, 4, 219, 



tisick. A cough. Troil. V, 3, 101. 
Titan. This word occurs six times in the 
plays and in every instance it denotes 
the sun. Troil. V, 10, 25 ; Rom. II, 3, 
4 ; Cym. Ill, 4, 166. The passage in 
IHIV. II, 4, 133, in the Fl. reads : Didst 
thou neuer see Titan kisse a dish of 
Butter, pittifull hearted Titan that 
melted at the siveete Tale of the Sunnef 
And this reading is retained in the Globe, 
the Cambridge and several modern 
eds. As the passage stands it does not 
make sense. Theobald emended pitiful- 
hearted Titan to pitiful hearted butter, 
and this has been generally accepted. 
In the earliest Quarto the reading is, 
at the siveete tale of the sonnes, and 
some retain Titan and adopt Steevens' 
explanation that the "sonne" was 
" Phaeton, who, by a plausible story, 
won on the easy nature of his father so 
far as to obtain from him the guidance 
of his own chariot for a day. 

The Titans were the sons and daughters 
of Uranus and Ge (Heaven and Earth), 
but the name was also given to their 
descendants : Prometheus, Hecate, La- 
tona, Pyrrha, and especially Helios (the 
Sun) and Selene (the Moon). Helios 
was the son of the Titan, Hyperion. 
Titania, dr.jj. Queen of the Fairies. Mids. 
The name Titania was given by Ovid, 
in his "Metamorphoses," to several 
goddesses, Diana, Latona and Circe, 
because they were supposed to be de- 
scended from the Titans, q.v. As Pro- 
fessor Baynes says in his " Shakespeare 
Studies": the name "thus used em- 
bodies rich and complex associations 
connected with the silver bow, the 
magic cup and the triple crown. * * * 
Diana, Latona, Hecate are all goddesses 
of night, queens of the shadowy world, 
ruling over its mystic elements and 
spectral powers. The comraon name 
thus awakens recollections of gleaming 
huntresses in dim and dewey woods, of 
dark rites and potent incantations under 
moonlit skies, of strange aerial voyages 
and ghostly apparitions of the under 
world. It was, therefore, of all possibly . 



TIT 






TOL 



names, the one best fitted to designate 
the queen of the same shadowy empire, 
with its phantom troops and activities 
in the northern mythology. And since 
Hh., with prescient inspiration, selected 
it for this purpose, it has naturally come 
to represent the whole world of fairy 
beauty, elfln adventure and goblin sport 
connected with lunar influences, with 
enchanted herbs and muttered spells. 
The Titania of Sh. fairy mythology may 
thus be regarded as the successor of 
Diana and other regents of the night 
belonging to the Greek Pantheon." 
tithe. In Katherine's description of Wol- 
sey, H VIII. IV, 2, lines 35 and 86 read : 
One that by suggestion Ty''de all the 
Kingdome, and this is retained in many 
eds. — the Globe, the "Henry Irving" 
and others. Hanmer changed to tithed, 
and this reading has been adopted by 
Grant White, Rolfe, Dyce, Hudson and 
some others. By suggestion tied all 
the kingdom is supposed to mean "by 
craft limited or infringed the liberties 
of the kingdom." But tithed seems 
more nearly to conform to the passage 
in Holinshed, from which Sh. got his 
information: "By crafty suggestion 
gat into his hands innumerable treas- 
ure." See suggest and suggestioyi. 

tithe=woman. The tenth woman. All's. 
I, 2, 88. As the tithes belonged to the 
parson of the parish, the tenth woman 
or tithe-woniayi would belong to him, 
or, as the song made it, "one good in 
ten." 

tithing, " A tithing is a division of a 
place ; a district ; the same in the country 
as a ward in the city." Steevens. Lr. 
Ill, 4, 40. 

Titinius, d.r.p. A friend to Brutus and 
Cassius. Cses. 

Titus Andronicus, dr. p. General against 
the Goths. Tit. 

Titus Lartius, dr. p. General against the 
Volscians. Cor. 

to. As it occurs in Troil. I, 1, 7, has been 
explained as ' ' in proportion to. ' ' Others 
explain it here and in Mcb. Ill, 1, 52, as 
" in addition to." cf. to-spend. 



toad. See lark and i^addock. 

toast. Bread scorched and put into liquor. 
Dyce. Troil. I, 8, 45. In this passage 
the ' ' saucy boat " is to be a dainty 
morsel for Neptune to swallow. Verity. 
So in Wiv. Ill, 5, 8, Falstaff tells Bar- 
dolph to put a toast in his quart of sack. 
As rheumatic as two dry toasts 
(2HIV. II, 4, 62) = which cannot meet 
but they grate one another. Johnson. 

toasting=iron. A slang name for a sword. 
John IV, 8, 99. cf. HV. II, 1, 9. 

toaze. To pull apart ; to draw out. Wint. 
IV, 4, 760. Probably another form of 
tolAse, q.v. 

tod, n. Twenty-eight pounds or a quarter 
of a hundredweight (112 lbs). Wint. 
IV, 8, 84. 

tod, V. To yield a tod of wool. Wint. 
IV, 3, 88. 

tofore. Before. LLL. Ill, 1, 88. 

toge. A robe ; a gown ; the Roman toga. 
Cor. II, 8, 122. See woolvish. 

The passage in 0th. I, 1, 25, which 
reads toged consuls in the g. a. text 
reads tongued consuls in the Fl. The 
change from toyigued to toged was 
made by Theobald, as the word toged 
gave a contrast to arms or soldiership 
such as is found in the legal maxim 
cedant arma togce (let arms give place 
to robes). But Bos well judiciously re- 
marks (3rd Var., Vol. IX, p. 222) : "The 
Folio vea.dsto7igued, which agrees better 
with the woi-ds which follow, 'mere 
prattle without practice.' " 

tokens. Plague spots. LLL. V, 2, 423. 
See Lord''s tokens. The inscription 
"Lord have mercy on us" was put 
upon the doors of houses infected with 
the plague. 

tokened. Spotted, denoting the infection 
of the plague. Ant. Ill, 10, 9. 

toll. To take toll ; to collect a tax. John 
III, 1, 154; 2HIV. IV, 5, 75. 

The passage in All's. V, 3, 149, / 
will buy me a son-in-law in a fair, 
and toll for this, is rather obscure. 
The passage reads toule for this in the 
Fl. ; toule him for this in the other 
Folios. Some explain the expression 



TOM 



338 



TOU 



as, "I will pay tax for the privilege of 
selling him." Others: "I will offer 
him for sale and toule him, i.e., drive 
him up and down as they do horses to 
show them off."* Others think it 
means, " I will look upon him as a dead 
man and have the church bell tolled for 
him." 

tomboy. A drab. Cym. I, 6, 123. 

Tom o' Bedlam. See Bedlam. 

Tomyris. See Cyrus. 

tongs. An instrument for making a kind 
of music. " The music of the tongs was 
produced, I believe, by striking them 
with a key, while bones were played 
upon by rattling them between the 
the fingers." Dyce. Mids. IV, 1, 32. 

tongue, 15. To denounce ; to scold. Meas. 
IV, 4, 28. 

tongued. See toge. 

tongues. Languages. Gent. IV, 1, 38 ; 
Ado. V, 1, 167; Tw. I, 3, 97. Sir 
Toby pretends to understand the word 
' ' tongues ' ' in the latter passage to mean 
"tongs," both words being probably 
pronounced more nearly alike than they 
are now. He therefore replies to Sir 
Andrew, Theyi hadst thou had an ex- 
cellent head of hair. The pun here is 
between tongues and tongs, i.e., curling- 
tongs. This was first clearly set forth 
by Mr. Joseph Crosby in the American 
Bibliopolist for June, 1875. 

too too. Excessively. Gent. II, 4, 205. 
The slang phrase ' ' too too ' ' may occur 
to some readers. 

tooth, colt's. Literally, one of the first 
set of teeth in a colt. These are shed 
when the animal is about three years 
old. Hence, for a young man to cast 
his colt's tooth means to get rid of 
youthful habits or to sow his wild oats. 
HVIII. I, 3, 48. 

tooth=pick. The use of the tooth-pick 
was in Sh. time considered as an aff ecta- 

. tion of foreign manners. As Dr. John- 
son notes : "It has been already re- 

* Query : Is the expression "to tool a 
coach," i.e., to drive a coach, a modifi- 
cation of this word ? It is in common 
use amongst sporting men. 



marked that to pick the tooth and 
wear a piqued beard were, in that 
time, marks of a man affecting foreign 
fashions. " Ben Jonson, in his Cynthia'' s 
Revels, has : " A traveller, one so made 
out of the mixture and shreds of forms 
that himself is truly deformed. He 
walks most commonly with a clove or 
pick-tooth in his mouth." All's. I, 1, 
171 ; Wint. IV, 4, 780 ; John I, 1, 190. 

Topas, Sir, dr. p. A curate whose name 
and character were assumed by Feste, 
the clown, in Tw. IV, 2. In regard to 
the name, Furness has this note, for 
which he gives credit to his son, H. H. 
Furness, Jr. : "Did Shakespeare choose 
this name by design ? Reginald Scot, 
in his ' Disco verie of Witchcraft ' (Sixt. 
Chap., p. 294, ed. 1584), speaking of the 
virtues imparted to precious stones, 
says that ' a topase healeth the lunatike 
person of his passion of lunacie." For 
the title " Sir " see sir. 

top-gallant. The summit; the highest 
point. The top-gallant is above the top- 
mast and below the royal. Perhaps in 
Sh. time the highest sail or mast. Rom. 
II, 4, 202. 

topless. Supreme ; that cannot be over- 
topped; without a superior. Troil. I, 

3, 152. 

tortive. Twisted ; turned awry. Troil. 
I, 3, 9. 

tottering. Hanging in tatters or rags. 
John V, 5, 7. 

to=spend. These two words, as they oc- 
cur in John V, 2, 39, were hyphenated 
by Steevens, who has been followed by 
many eds. Not hyphenated in the Fl. 
nor in the Cambridge or Globe eds. The 
idea was that the to was intensive, but, 
as Rolfe says, "it seems to be merely an 
instance of the insertion of to with a 
second infinitive after its omission with 
the first." cf. to-pinch. Wiv. IV, 4, 
57. These words are hyphenated in the 
Globe but not in the Fl. 

touch, n. 1. A touchstone. IHIV. IV, 

4, 10. 

2. A trait. As. Ill, 2, 160 ; do. V, 4, 27 ; 
Troil. Ill, 3, 175. 



Ton 



339 



TEA 



3. A lest ; a proof. Cor. IV, 1, 49. Of 
noble touch = of tried nobleness. 

4. Exploit ; deed. Mids. Ill, 2, 70. 

5. Upon the word, as it occurs in Tw. 

II, 1, 13, Farness has the following 
remarks: "Schmidt (Lexicon) is some- 
what astray in defining this present use 
of touch as ' dash, spice, smack ' ; 
'touch ' is more refined than these rude 
words. W. A, Wright defines it by 
'delicate feeling,' and quotes in proof 
the following passages." He then 
quotes Mids. Ill, 2, 286 ; Tp. V, 1, 21 ; 
Cym. I, 1, 135. 

One touch of nature. See nature. 
touch, V. To test ; to put to the proof. 
John III, 1, 100 ; Cor. II, 3, 199 ; Tim. 

III, 3, 6 ; Obh. Ill, 3, 81. 

torcher. A torch bearer. All's. II, 1, 1G5. 

Touchstone, dr.p. A clown. As. 

touse. To pull apart ; to rend. Meas. 
V, 1, 313. cf. toaze. 

toward. Ready ; at hand ; coming. Mids. 
Ill, 1, 81 ; As. V, 4, 35 ; Rom. I, 5, 124. 

tower. The Tower of London is tradi- 
tionally said to have been the work of 
Julius Caesar. Johnson. RII. V, 1, 2 ; 
RIII. Ill, 1, 68. 

tower. To soar as a bird. John V, 2, 
149. 

toy. This word is used by Sh. in several 
senses, the differences between which 
are not alwa,ys appreciated by readei's 
or even by coms. The original meaning 
of toy was probably "spoil"; "hence, 
materials for one's own use as well as 
stuff, gear and trash." Skeat. And 
like many other words it was after- 
wards applied to mental as well as 
material things. The following are 
some of the senses in which it occurs : 

1. A trinket ; a bauble. Tw. Ill, 3, 44. 

2. A thing of no value, hence, applied 
in a depreciatory sense. Lucr. 214 ; 
IHVI. IV, 1, 145 : RIII. Ill, 3, 114. 

3. A freak ; a sudden whim ; an odd 
conceit. Pilgr. 337; RIII. I, 1, 60; 
Rom. IV, 1, 119 ; Hml. I, 3, 6, and I, 4, 
75 ; Kins. V, 4, 66. 

4. A rumor ; an idle report ; a curious 
story. Mids. V, 1, 3 ; John I, 1, 232. 



5. A head-dress; a sort of cap. Wint. 
IV, 4, 326 ; Kins. I, 3, 71. 

Most coms. define the word toy in 
these two passages as "an ornament" 
or "bit of finery," but it seems to me 
that this does not quite satisfy the 
obvious requirements of the context : 
Any toys for your head 
Of the new'st and finest, finest wear— a? 
It is much more likely that what Auto- 
lycus here offered was a head-dress such 
as was at one time worn by all women, 
young and old. Toy, in this sense, is a 
good old English word still surviving 
in Scotch. Thus, Burns, in his address 
" To a Louse," speaks of "an auld 
wife's flainen toy, "and in his own 
glossary, appended to the eds. issued 
during his lifetime, he defines toy as "a 
very old fashion of female head-dress." 
Strange to say, the word is not found 
in Jamieson's "Dictionary of the Scot- 
tish Language " (4 vols. 4to.), and Henley 
omits it from his glossary, appended to 
the Centenary ed., but it may be found 
in all good eds. of Burns. 

The Cent. Diet, gives toy-mutch as 
the equivalent of toy. This, to my 
thinking, is a very queer compound not 
found in any authoritative list of Scot- 
tish words within my reach. A mutch 
is a cap, so that " toj^-mutch " literally 
translated would be cap-cap. 

tract. Trace; track. HVIIL I, ], 40; 
Tim. I, 1, 51. 

trade. The general course ; way ; beaten 
path. HVIIL V, 1, 36. 

traded. Professional ; skilful. John IV, 
3, 109 ; Troil. II, 2, 64. 

train, n. Bait; allurement. Mcb. IV, 
3, 118. 

train, v. To entice ; to allure. Err. Ill, 
2, 45 ; Tit. V, 1, 104. 

traject. See tranect. 

trammel up. To catch as in a net. Mcb. 
I, 7, 3. 

tranect. A ferry. Merch. Ill, 4, 63. 
This is the word used in the Fl. and in 
many eds. Corrected by Rowe to tra- 
ject, of which it is in all probability a 
misprint. Coryat, in his "Crudities," 



TEA 



MO 



TRE 



tells us that " there are in Venice thir- 
teen ferries or passages which they 
commonly call Traghetti." 

Tranio, dr\p. Servant to Lucentio. Shr. 

transformation. The passage: the goodly 
transformation of Jupiter there (Troil. 
V, 1, 9) is thus explained by Warburton: 
" He calls Menelaus the tra,nsforination 
of Jupiter, that is, as he himself explains 
it, the bull, on account of his horns, 
which he had as a cuckold. This cuckold 
he calls the jorhnitive statue of cuckolds ; 
i.e., his story had made him so famous, 
that he stood as the great archetype of 
his character." See Europa. 

translate. To transform ; to change the 
appearance of. Sonn. XCVI, 10 ; Mids. 
I, 1, 191, and III, 1, 122 ; Hml. Ill, 1, 
113 ; Cor. II, 3, 198. 

trap. See marry. 

trash. 1. To prune or lop off branches. 
Tp. I, 2, 81. 
2. To restrain ; to check. 0th. II, 1, 312. 
A hunting term derived from the tech- 
nical name of the leash or strap used 
to hold dogs back. 

traverse. To make a thrust. Wiv. II, 
3,25. 

traversed. Crossed ; folded. Tim. V, 4, 7. 

travel. A demure travel of regard (Tw. 
11,5,59), " that is, scanning his 'ofl&cers' 
gravely, one by one." Furness. 

Travers, dr. p. Servant to Northumber- 
land. 2HVI. 

tray=trip. "A game at cards, played 
with dice as well as with cards, the 
success in which chiefly depended upon 
the throwing of treys." Halliwell. 
Nares says that some coins, have fancied 
that it resembled the game called hop- 
scotch or Scotch-hop. He adds, how- 
ever, that this seems to rest merely 
upon unauthorized conjecture, and that 
"it is not likely that a great stake 
should be played for at a childish game 
of activity." Tw. II, 5, 207. 

treacher. A traitor. Lr. I, 2, 133. The 
Quartos have trecherers, which has been 
adopted in some eds. 

treaties. 1. Entreaties; supplications. 
Ant. Ill, 11, 62. 



2. Proposal ; offer. John II, 1, 481 ; Cor. 
II, 2, 59. 

treble = dated. Living for three ages. 
Phoen. 17. 

Trebonius, dr. p. A Roman conspirator. 
Caes. 

trench. To cut ; to carve. Gent. Ill, 2, 7. 

trencher=friend. A sponger; a parasite; 
one who flatters for the sake of a place 
at table. Tim. Ill, 6, 106. 

trencher=knight. Usually defined as " a 
serving man attending at table. ' ' (Cent. 
Diet, and Schni. " Lexicon.") Dyce 
defines it as " one who holds a trencher ; 
a pai'asite." Nares suggests that it is 
synonymous with carpet knight; but 
while a carpet knight was regularly 
dubbed a knight, the epithet "trencher 
knight" was not only a term of con- 
tempt but actual knighthood did not 
seem to form any necessary condition 
for conferring it. The only quotation 
given from Sh. or any other old writer 
is LLL. V, 2, 464, and the functions of 
the trencher-knight as there described 
are certainly not those of a serving 

man : 

Some please-man, some 
slight zany, 
Some mumble-news, some trencher- 
knight, some Dick 
That smiles his cheek in years and 

and knows the trick 
To make my lady laugh when she's 
disposed. 

Surely it never was the custom for 
serving men and waiters (except, of 
coui-se,, the professional fool) to join in 
the discourse at table and make the host 
and guests laugh. The expression, you 
are alloiv'd, in line 478, would seem to 
show that a fool rather than a serving 
man was intended. Schm. refers to 
lines further on (476), but these indicate 
the functions of the fool rather than 
those of the serving man. See carpet 
knight. 

trencher=nian. A feeder. A very valiant 
trencher-man = a good feeder. Ado. 
I, 1, 51. 

trespass. Sin; crime. Wint. I, 2, 265; 
RII. I, 1, 138. The passage in Tp. Ill, 



TEE 



341 



TRI 



3, 99, the thunder * * -- did buss 
my tresjmss = the deep pipe told it me 
in a rough bass sound. Johnson. See 
organ-pi2:)e. 

tresses. See hair. 

trey. Three ; a term at cards. LLL. V, 
2, 233. 

tribulation. A name applied to Puritans, 
either to the whole sect or to some par- 
ticular congregation, HVIII. V, 4, 67. 

trick, n. 1 . A peculiarity ; special feature ; 
characteristic. All's. I, 1, 107 ; John I, 
1, 85; IHIV. II, 4, 446; Lr. IV, 6, 108. 
In this sense the word " is properly an 
heraldic term, meaning a delineation of 
arms, in which the colors are distin- 
guished by their technical marks, with- 
out any color being laid on. " Dyce. 

2. A habit ; manner ; custom. Meas. V, 
1,510; 2HIV. 1,2, 240. 

3. A knack ; a faculty. LLL. V, 2, 465 ; 
Hml. V, 1, 99 ; Cym. Ill, 3, 86. 

4. A toy ; a puppet. Shr. IV, 3, 67 ; 
Wint. II, 1, 51. 

The M ord, as it occurs in Hml. IV, 4, 
61: That for a fantasy and trick of 
fame, has received several interpreta- 
tions. Caldecott makes ti'ick of fame 
= point of honour. Dowden, a toy or 
trifle of fame. Delius thinks that both 
fantasy and trick should be connected 
with fame and makes it "an illusion 
and a whim that promise fame." But 
may it not be a purely heraldic term 
referring to the " trick " or delineation 
of a great deed that is placed over a 
soldier's tomb or embodied in his 
history ? 

trick, V. To dress out; to adorn. HV. 
Ill, 6, 80. In Hml. 11^ 2, 479, trick'd = 
painted ; smeared. E vidently an applica- 
tion of the heraldic term, ef. trick, 71. (1). 

tricking. Dresses ; ornaments. Wiv. IV, 

4, 79. 

tricksy. 1. Clever ; adroit ; sportive. Tp. 
V, 1, 226. 
2. Affected ; quibbling. Merch. Ill, 5, 74. 

Trigon. " Fiery Trigon " was a term in 
the old judicial astrology when the three 
upper planets met in a fiery sign — a 
phenomenon which was supposed to 



indicate rage and contention. 2HIV. II, 
4, 288. Dr. Nash, in his notes to Butler's 
"Hudibras," says: "The twelve signs 
in astrology are divided into four trigons 
or triplicities, each denominated from 
the connatural element; so they are 
three fiery, three airy, three watery and 
three earthy signs. " These are : 
Fiery— kxie^, Leo, Sagittarius. 
Airy— GfQmini, Libra, Aquarius. 
Watery— QsLncer, Scorpio, Pisces. 
Earthy— TsMTViS, Virgo, Capricornus. 
Thus, when the three superior planets 
met in Aries, Leo or Sagittarius, they 
formed a, fiery trigon; when in Cancer, 
Scorpio or Pisces, a watery one. 

trill. To trickle. Lr. IV, 3, 14. 

Trinculo, dr.p. A jester. Tp. 

triple. 1. A third ; one of three. All's. 
II, 1, 111; Ant. I, 1, 12. In this last 
passage the allusion is to Caesar's being 
one of the triuinvirate. 
2. Three-fold. Mids. V, 1, 391. The al- 
lusion here is to the triple character of 
Hecate : Luna in heaven ; Diana on 
earth and Hecate in the nether world. 
See Diana. 

triple=turned. Three times faithless. Ant. 
IV, 12, 13. Cleopatra was fii'st the 
mistress of Julius Caesar, then of Cneius 
Pompey, and afterwards of Antony. 
The latter now supposes that she had 
betrayed him to Augustus ; hence, the 
opprobrious epithet. 

triplex. Triple-time in music. Tw.V, 1,41. 

tristful. Sorrowful. Hml. Ill, 4, 50. 

Triton. The son of Neptune and Amphi- 
trite, who dwelt with his father and 
mother in a golden palace on the bottom 
of the sea or, according to Homer, at 
-^gae, in Euboea. Later writers de- 
scribe this divinity of the Mediterranean 
as riding over the sea on horses and 
other sea monsters. Sometimes also 
Tritons are mentioned in the plural 
and as serving other marine divinities 
in riding over the sea. They are always 
conceived as having the upper part of 
their bodies human and the lower part 
as that of a fish. The chief character- 
istic of Tritons in poetry as well as in 



TBI 



343 



TRO 



works of art is a trumpet consisting of 
a conch-shell, which they blow at the 
command of Neptune to calm the rest- 
less waves of the sea, and in the fight of 
the Gigantes this trumpet served to 
to frighten the enemies. The reference 
in Cor. Ill, 1, 89, needs no explanation. 

triumph. A trump card. Ant. IV, 12, 20. 

Troilus, dr. p. Son to Priam. Troil. 

Troian, [ " A cant term used in various 

Trojan. \ meanings, sometimes as a 
term of reproach, sometimes as com- 
mendation." Dyce. LLL. V, 2, 640; 
do. V, 2, 681 ; IHIV. II, 1, 77; HV. V, 
1, 20. Trojan Greeks (2HIV. II, 4, 181) 
is one of Pistol's drunken and nonsen- 
sical expressions. 

troll. To sing in rotation. Tp. Ill, 2, 
139. 

troll = my = dames. The game of Troll- 
madam was borrowed from the French 
(Trou-madame) : an old English name 
for it was Pigeon-holes, as the arches 
in the machine through which the balls 
are rolled resemble the cavities made 
for pigeons in a dove-house. Steevens. 
Wint. IV, 3, 93. 

tropically. Figuratively; by way of a 
trope or figure. Hml. Ill, 3, 350. The 
word is trapically in Ql., and Dowden 
suggests that a pun may have been in- 
tended. 

trot. 1. A decrepit old woman or man. 
Shr. I, 3, 80 ; Meas. Ill, 3, 53. 
2. One of the horse's gaits. Upon this 
word, as used in As. Ill, 3, 338, Hudson 
remarks: "Hardly anything is so apt 
to make a short journey seein long as 
riding on a hard-trotting horse, however 
fast a horse may go. On the other 
hand, to ride an ambling horse makes 
a long journey seem short, because the 
horse rides so easy. It were hardly 
needful to say this, but that some have 
lately proposed to invert the order of 
the nags in this case. " 

trowel. Celia's reply to Touchstone, that 
was laid on with a trowel (As. I, 2, 113), 
is an old proverb which may be found 
in Ray (p. 73, ed. of 1813). Furness 
very properly says that as the first ed. 



of Ray was published in 1670, his work 
is useless as an unsupported authority 
for any phrase of Sh. like this. But 
Ray lived very close to Sh. time, and 
his Collection of Proverbs was no doubt 
gathered from the lips of those who 
were contemporai'ies of Sh. Ray quotes 
the proverb as applied to "a great lie," 
"a loud one." But it probably was 
applied to any extravagant speech and 
literally means: "That was laid on 
thick." 

troth=plight. Betrothment. Wint. I, 2, 
278. 

trow. To trust ; to believe ; to know. 
Lr. I, 4, 135 ; do. I, 4, 234 ; HVIII. I, 1, 
184 ; Shr. I, 2, 4 ; As. Ill, 2, 189. 

Troy. This city is frequently referred to 
in other plays of Sh. besides Troilus 
and Cressida, of which the main sub- 
ject is the siege of Troy. The very 
existence of Troy has been disputed 
and the story of its origin, siege and 
destruction has been relegated to the 
region of fable and poetry. On the 
other hand, there are those who main- 
tain that Troy had a real existence and 
that the story of the siege was the 
history of a decisive conflict between 
the great Thracian empire in the north- 
west of Asia Minor and the rising power 
of the Achaeans in Greece, in which the 
latter were victorious. But the Troy 
legend enters so extensively into the 
literature of every age and of every 
European people that a brief account 
of it is not out of place. 

The first town near the site of the 
city of Priam was founded by Teucer, 
who was told by an oracle to settle 
wherever the "earth-born ones" at- 
tacked him. So when he and his com- 
pany were attacked in the Troad by 
mice, which gnawed their bow-strings 
and the handles of their shields, he 
settled on the spot, thinking that the 
oracle was fulfilled. He built a town 
aiid called it Sminthium, Sminthiiis 
being the Cretan word for a mouse. In 
his reign, Dardanus, in consequence of 
a flood, drifted from the island of 



TRO 



343 



TUM 



Samothrace ou u raf t to the coast of the 
Troad, where Teucer gave hina a por- 
tion of land and his daughter, Batea, 
for a wife. He founded the city of 
Dardania or Dardanus on high ground 
at the foot of Mount Ida. On the death 
of Teucer, Dardanus succeeded to the 
kingdom and called the whole land 
Dardania after himself. He had a son, 
Erichthonius, who was the father of 
Tros, by Astyoche, daughter of Simois. 
On succeeding to the throne, Tros called 
the country Troy and the people Trojans. 
He had three sons, Ilus, Assaracus and 
Ganymede. From Ilus aiid Assaracus 
sprang two separate lines of the royal 
house — that from Ilus being Laomedon, 
Priam and Hector ; that from Assara- 
cus, Capys, Anchises and ^neas. Ilus 
went to Phrygia where, being victorious 
in wrestling, he received as a prize a 
spotted cow with an injunction to follow 
her and found a city wherever she lay 
down. The cow lay down on the hill 
of the Phrygian At6, and here, accord- 
ingly, Ilus founded the city of Ilios. 
Afterwards Dardania, Troy and Ilios 
became one city. Desiring a sign at 
the foundation of Ilios, Ilus prayed to 
Zeus (Jupiter), and as an answer he 
found, lying before his tent the Pal- 
ladium, a wooden statue of Pallas, three 
cubits high, with her feet joined, a 
spear in her right hand and a distaff 
and spindle in her left. Ilus built a 
temple for the image and worshipped 
it. Ilus had a son, Laomedon, in whose 
reign Poseidon (JMeptune) and Apollo, or 
Poseidon alone, built the walls of Troy. 
Hercules besieged Troy, took the city, 
slew Laomedon and his children except 
one daughter, Hesione, and one son, 
Podarces. The life of Podarces was 
granted at the request of Hesione ; but 
Hercules stipulated that Podarces must 
first be a slave and then be redeemed 
by Hesione ; she gave her veil for him ; 
hence, his name Priam (from pr a is thai, 
to buy). See Priam. During his reign 
the Grreeks besieged Troy and took it by 
stratagem after ten years' fighting. See 



horse, ominous, Achilles, Paris, Sinon, 
'miraculous harp, etc. 

truckle-bed. A low bed which runs on 
castors and can be pushed under an 
ordinary bed ; a trundle-bed. Wiv. V, 
5, 7; Rom. II, 1,39. 

true defence. Honest defence; defence 
in a good cause. Johnson. John IV, 
3, 84. 

true=penny. An honest fellow. Hml. I, 
5, 150. 

trundle-tail. A dog with a curling tail. 
Lr. Ill, 6, 73. 

trunk-sleeve. A full sleeve. Shr. IV, 
3, 141. 

try. To bring a ship as close to the wind 
as possible. Tp. I, 1, 40. 

tub, ) Refers to a particular process 

tub-fast, f of curing the venereal disease 
by sweating. Meas. Ill, 2, 61 ; Tim. 
IV, 3, 86. 

The reference in HV. II, 1, 79 and 80, 
"alludes to the punishment of Cressida 
for her falsehood to Troilus. She was 
afflicted with the leprosy ' like a Lazar- 
ous"' and sent to the ' spittel hous. '" 
Douce, cf. Chaucer's Testament of 
Creseide. 

Tubal, dr. p. Friend to Shylock, Merch. 

tuck. A rapier. Tw. II, 4, 247. See 
sta.nding-tuck. 

tucket sonance. A flourish on a trum- 
pet. HV. IV, 2, 35. 

tuition. Protection. Another instance 
of the word used in its etymological 
sense. It is derived from the Latin 
tuitus,-p.-g. of tueri, to watch, protect. 
Skeat. The word occurs only once in 
Sh. (Ado. I, 1, 283), but it was in com- 
mon use in this sense in his time. Malone 
quotes Michael Di'ayton, who concludes 
one of his letters to Drummond of 
Hawthornden, in 1619, thus : " And so, 
wishing you all happiness, I conunend 
you to Grod's tuition, and rest your 
assured friend." 

Tullus Auf idius, dr. p. A Volscian general. 
Cor. 

tumbler's hoop. The expression. And 
ivear fits colours like a tumbler''s hoop 
(LLL. Ill, 1, 190), is thus explained by 



TUN 



344 



TWE 



Harris: "Tumblers' hoops are to this 
day bound round with ribbons of various 
colours." 

tun=dish. A funnel or tunnel. Meas. Ill, 
2, 183. Dyce says a wooden funnel. 
Why ? 

tune. Accent. Cym. V, 5, 239. 

Turk. To turn Turk = to go to the bad. 
Ado. Ill, 4, 56 ; Hml. Ill, 3, 393. 

Turk Gregory. "Meaning Gregory the 
Seventh, called Hildebrand. This furi- 
ous friar surmounted almost invincible 
obstacles to deprive the Emperor of his 
right of investiture of bishops, which 
his predecessors had long attempted in 
vain. Fox, in his History, hath made 
Gregory so odious, that I don't doubt 
but the good Protestants of that time 
were well pleased to hear him thus 
characterized, as uniting the attributes 
of their two great enemies, the Turk 
and Pope in one. " Warbuf-ton. IHIV. 
V, 3, 46. 

Turiy=god, ) A word which has caused 

Turly=good. ) much discussion, but evi- 
dently used by Sh. as equivalent to 
Tom-o' -Bedlam. Lr. II, 3, 31. Collier 
has suggested that it is simply a vulgar 
mode of pronouncing thoroughly-good ; 
but this seems to me untenable. War- 
burton derives the name fi'om Tur lupin, 
a fraternity of naked beggars which 
ran up and down Europe, and were 
probably so called from their wolvish 
bowlings. Nares thinks it is an original 
English term, too remote in form to 
be derived from Turlupin. Cotgrave 
gives: " Tirelupin : m. A catchbit, or 
captious coinioanion ; a scowndrell or 
sciiruie fellow.'''' 

Turn = bull street. Properly Turnmill- 
street, near Clerkenwell ; a street notori- 
ous as the residence of low characters. 
It had its name from a river or brook 
formerly there whereon stood several 
mills. 2HIV. Ill, 3, 339. 

turning away. The Clown's speech in 
Tw. I, 5, 31, for turning away, let 
summer bear it out, is thus explained 
by Steevens : " If I am turned away, 
the advantages of the approaching 



summer will bear out or support all the 
inconveniences of dismission ; for I shall 
find employment in every field, and 
lodging under every hedge." Wright 
says : " But perhaps the Clown, having 
been frequently threatened with dis- 
missal, simply means, Wait till summer 
comes, and see if it be true." 

turquoise. This stone was said to fade 
or brighten as the health of the wearer 
increased or grew less. To this Ben 
Jonson refers in his Sejanus, 1, 1 : "And 
true as turquoise in my dear lord's ring, 
Look well or ill with him." Steevens. 
Edward Fenton, in "Secret Wonders 
of Nature " (1569), says : " The Turkeys 
doth move when there is any perill pre- 
pared to him that weareth it." Merch. 
Ill, 1, 136. 

turtle. This word in Sh. always means 
the turtle-dove ; never the tortoise or 
allied species. The turtle-dove was the 
emblem of chaste and faithful love, and 
hence the name was used for a chaste 
woman, as in Wiv. II, 1, 71 ; Wint. V, 
3, 133. 

twangling. Shrill - sounding ; jingling. 
Tp. Ill, 3, 146 ; Shr. II, 1, 159. 

twenty. The phrase sweet and twenty 
(Tw. II, 3, 53) has been variously ex- 
plained. Capell's connnent is: "then 
give me a kiss, sweet, give me twenty 
kisses." Johnson observes that the "line 
is obscure ; we might read. Come, a 
kiss then, sweet, and twenty. Yet I 
know not whether the present reading 
be not right, for in some counties sweet 
and twenty, whatever be the meaning, 
is a phrase of endearment." It is true 
that twenty has been used in the sense 
of twenty times, as in Wiv. II, 1, 203, 
where Shallow says. Good even and 
twenty, good Master Page! but, as 
Furness well observes, such " quotations 
are not, I think, exactly parallel to the 
present phrase ; the twenty * * * is 
repeated directly after a noun, such as 
' evening. ' ' ' Steevens gives a quotation 
supporting Dr. Johnson's suggestion, 
"his little wanton wagtailes, his sweet 
and twenties," etc., but nobody has yet 



TWI 



345 



TWI 



verified it, though many have quoted 
it. Very probably one of Steevens's 
"fakes." But Johnson was before 
Steevens and his evidence is all that is 
needed. The probability, therefore, is 
that it was an idiomatic phrase express- 
ing endearment. 

The words sweet and twenty are not 
hyphenated in the Fl. This was done 
first by Reed, who has been followed by 
many eds., including the Variorums of 
1793, 1803, 1813 and 1821. Not hyphen- 
ated in either the Globe or the Cam- 
bridge ed. 

twiggen. Made of twigs ; encased in 
osier or wicker-work. 0th. II, 3, 153. 

twilled. The line Thy banks withpioned 
and twilled brims (Tp. IV, 1, 64) has 
never been clearly explained. Furness 
devotes nearly six pages to the notes and 
explanations which have been offered, 
and Skeat, in his Etym. Diet. , says that 
the word "twilled" as it occurs here 
"is yet unexplained." The following 
are a few of the interpretations which 
have been offered. Of the different 
emendations which have been suggested, 
tulip'' d, Rowe; tilled, Capeil; lilied, 
Rann ; willow''d, Keightley ; ivillied, 
Keightley, and others it is unnecessary 
to speak. 

The interpretations may be divided 
into two classes : first, those which ex- 
plain pioned and twilled as covered 
with flowers. Professor Bayne insists 
that pio7i is the Warwickshire name for 
the mai-sh marigold, and pio7ied would 
then mean covered with this plant. 
Twilled is said by some to be reeded, 
i.e., covered with reeds ; others make it 
covered with lilies, and this gloss, covered 
with flowers of sonae kind, has been 
accepted by many corns. , including John- 
son, Steevens, Dyce, White, Schmidt, 
Rolfe and others. Johnson's note on the 
passage is as follows : " The old Edition 
reads pioned and twilled brims, which 
I do not understand." In the text he 
changed 2noned to pionied. 

The second explanation is fhaX, pioned 
meaiis dug or trenched, and twilled, 



ridged. Henley (not W. E., but the old 
Shakespearean com.) seems to have been 
the first to insist upon dug and ridged 
as being the meaning of pioyied and 
twilled. That "pion" means to dig is 
seen in Spenser's "Fairie Queen," Book 
II, chap. 11 : 

Which to outbarre, with painful 
pyonings 

From sea to sea he heapt a mighty 
mound. 
And the word "pioner," which signifies 
a digger, occurs in Lucr. 1380 ; HV. Ill, 
2, 92 ; Hml. I, 5, 163 ; 0th. Ill, 3, 346. 
See pioner. To manufacture the word 
" pioned" out of this would be just like 
Sh. Twilled has been explained in two 
ways. Some define it as thrown into 
ridges which give land an appearance 
similar to that of twilled cloth ; others 
claim that it means staked and wattled, 
a process often applied to land to pre- 
vent banks from being washed away. 
White objects to this interpretation 
that "dug and ridged banks cannot 
'make cold nymphs chaste crowns ;' for 
those we must go to pioned and lilied 
banks." But Sh. does not say that the 
"chaste crowns" are made of dug and 
ridged banks. The " chaste crowns" are 
made of the trimmings bestowed by 
spongy April, as may be seen on reading 
the passage : 

Thy banks with pioned and twilled 
brims, 

Which spongy April at thy hest be- 
trims. 

To make cold nymphs chaste crowns. 

Knight, Collier, Marshall, Furness and 
several others adopt Henley's gloss, 
which seems to me to be most probably 
right. Those who desire to study this 
point exhaustively should consult the 
ed. of Dr. Furness, who closes as follows : 
" I doubt if thei^e be any corruption in 
this line which calls for change. We 
have simply lost the meaning of words 
which were perfectly intelligible to Sh. 
audience. As agricultural or horticul- 
tural terms ' pioned ' and ' twilled ' will 
be some day, probably, sufficiently ex- 



TWI 



846 



ULL 



plained to enable us to weave from them 
the chaste crowns for cold nymphs. In 
the mean time I see no reason why we 
should not accept Henley's interpreta- 
tion as the best means of enabling 
spungy April, in Emerson's fine phrase, 
to turn the sod to violet. '' 

twire. To twinkle ; to shine with an un- 
steady light. Sonn. XXVIII, 12. 

twist. A string. Cor. V, 6, 96. 

Tybalt, dr.p. Nephew to Capulet. Rom. 
See prince of cats. 

Tyburn. The place of public execution in 
Middlesex until 1783. After that time, 
until quite recently, all executions took 
place in Newgate. " Tyburn Tree " was 
the public gallows, and malefactors were 
conveyed there in an open cart. The 
old gallows at Tyburn stood near the 
N. E. corner of Hyde Park, at the 
angle formed by the Edge ware-road and 
the top of Oxford-street. In 1778 this 



was two miles out of London. It took 
its name from a small stream which 
ran through this district. The region 
is now highly fashionable and is known 
as Tyburnia, facetiously divided by the 
Londoners into Tyburnia Felix, Ty- 
burnia Deserta and Tyburnia Snobbica. 

type. A badge ; a distinguishing mark. 
RII. IV, 4, 244 ; HVIII. I, 3, 31. 

tyrannically. Violently; outrageously; 
after the manner of the tyrants in the 
old miracle plays. Hnil. II, 2, 356. 

tyrant. One who shows no mercy. Ado. 
I, 1, 170; Meas. II, 4, 169; 2HIV., Ind. 
14. Of this word, as it occurs in Ado. 
I, 1, 170, Furnesssays: "An extremely 
unusual use of the word, wherein there 
cannot be involved the idea of dominion, 
usurped or otherwise. The hatred felt 
for a tyrant is ti'ansf erred to the objects 
of his tyranny." 

Tyrrel, Sir James, dr.p. RIII. 




LLORXA, A word which occurs 
in the Fl. (Tim. Ill, 4, 113), 
and which has proved a puzzle 
to all the corns. It was ondtted 
from the F2. and F3., and this course 
has been followed by Dyce and several 
others. The Cambridge eds. read : All, 
sirrah, all. White and Clarke sug- 
gested that it was a misprint for Ven- 
tidius. Fleay suggested all luxors, 
luxors meaning luxurious or lustful 
persons and being a favorite word of 
Cyril Tourneur, whona Fleay at one 
time conjectured to be the second author 
concerned in the play. But the passage 
reads well enough with the word omitted. 
Professor Harold Littledale has, how- 
ever, suggested in the London " Athen- 
aeum " a reading which deserves at- 
tention and which seems the most 
plausible of any yet offered. He says : 
" My theory, at least, is that the 
word as it stands is nothing more than 
9, running together by the printer of 



four words — two being numerals and 
one a contraction — into the mystic crux 
Vllorxa. Let us divide it — Vll-or-X-a. 
The only question is as to the a. This 
I take be or = other. Thus the Folio 
makes Timon say to his faithful Steward; 

Go, bid all my Friends againe, 
Lucius, Lucullus, and Sempronius 

Vllorxa : All, 
lie once more feast the rascals. 

What Shakspere meant Timon to say 
was this : 

Go, bid all my friends again, 

Lucius, Lucullus, and Sempronius : 

Seven or ten other : All ! 

I'll once more feast the rascals. 

As the printer could not make out the 
(probably close- written) numerals and 
contraction, he printed quite faithfully 
what he took to be a Greek name. The 
contraction or for other is still in com- 
mon use, and, written carelessly, closely 
resembles the loosely written Eliza- 
bethan a, in which the stroke often 



ULY 



347 



UNA 



stood out from the o, though joined at 
the top." 
Ulysses, dr.p. A G-recian commander. 
Troil. 

Ulysses, or Odysseus as he was called 
by the G-reeks, was one of the principal 
Greek heroes in the Trojan war. He 
was the son of Laertes and Anticlea, 
the daughter of Autolycus, the famous 
robber of Mount Parnassus. See Auto- 
lycus. He was married to Penelope 
(see Penelope), by whom he became the 
father of Telemachus. When a young 
man he went to see his grandfather, 
Autolycus, and while there he was 
wounded by a wild boar in his knee, 
and by this scar his old nurse, Euryclea, 
recognised him when he returned to 
Ithaca after his twenty years w-ander- 
ings. Even at an early age he was 
distinguished for courage, for knowledge 
of navigation, for eloquence and skill 
as a negotiator. Laertes, having had 
some sheep stolen from him by the 
Messenians, sent Ulysses to demand 
reparation. He there met with Iphitus, 
who was seeking the horses stolen from 
him and who gave Ulysses the famous 
bow of Eurytus. This bow was so 
strong that very few could bend it. It 
is said that he was one of the suitors of 
Helen and he advised Tyndareus to 
make the suitors swear that they would 
defend the chosen bridegroom against 
any one who should insult him on 
Helen's account. After Paris had car- 
ried Helen off, Palamedes and some 
other Greeks visited him to urge him to 
keep his pi-omise and aid them. He 
feigned madness, and to carry out the 
pretence he yoked an ass and an ox 
together and sowed salt. Palamedes, 
to try him, placed the infant Telemachus 
in the way of the plow, whereupon 
Ulysses had to confess, but he never 
forgave Palamedes. During the siege 
of Troy he distinguished himself as a 
valiant and undaunted warrior, but 
more particularly as a cunning spy and 
a prudent and eloquent negotiator. 
(See Diomedes and Rhesus.) He is 



said to have devised the stratagem of 
the wooden horse, and he was one of 
those who were concealed inside it. (See 
Sinon, and horse, omiyious.) On his 
way home from Troy he met with a 
series of misfortunes which so prolonged 
his absence that he was twenty years 
away from home. (See Circe and 
Sirens.) On his return he found that 
Penelope, during his absence, had been 
beset by a number of suitors who wasted 
his substance in riotous living and re- 
fused to desist unless Penelope married 
one of them, (^ee Penelope.) Penelope, 
with great difficulty, was made to pro- 
mise her hand to the one who should 
conquer the others in shooting with the 
bow of Ulysses. As none of the suitors 
was able to draw the bow, Ulysses him- 
self took it and then began to attack 
them. Being supported by Athena 
(Minerva) and Telemachus, his son, he 
soon slew them all. He then made him- 
self known to Penelope and went to see 
his aged father. Of his after life 
various accounts are given. According 
to some, he was slain by his son, Tele- 
gonus, whom he had by Circe and whom 
he and Telemachus had attacked for 
plundering the coast of Ithaca, Tele- 
gonus having been cast thereon by a 
storm and being without provisions. 

umber. A brownish paint. Certainly 
not "red ochre" as some have it. As. 
I, 3, 114. 

umber'd. Darkened; shadowed. HV. 
IV, Chor. 9. 

umbrage. Shadow. HjuI. V, 2, 126. 

unable. Weak, inadequate. Lr. I, 1, 
61. See HV., Epi. 1 : My weak and all 
unable pen. Nash had written in Pierce 
Pennilesse, " My unable pen." Craig. 

unaccommodated. Not furnished with 
what is necessary. Lr. Ill, 4, 111. 

unagreeable. Unsuitable; not adapted 
to the circumstances. Tim. II, 2, 41. 

unaneled. Not having received extreme 
unction. Hml. I, 5, 77. 

unapproved. Unconfirmed. Compl. 53. 

unaptness. Unfitness ; not being in a 
proper mood. Tit. II, 3, 140, 



UNA 



348 



UNO 



unattainted. Impartial ; without def ecL 

Rom. I, 2, 90. 
unavoided. 1. Inevitable; unavoidable. 
(See "Sh. Grammar," §375.) RII. 2, 
268 ; IHVI. IV, 5, 8 ; RIII. IV, 4, 217. 
2. Unshunned. RIII. IV, 1, 56. See 
cockatrice. 
unbacked. Not taught to bear a rider ; 

unbroken. Tp. IV, 1, 176. 
unbarbed. 1. The Cent. Diet., following 
Dyce, defines unbarbed as unshorn ; 
untrimmed. Schm,, unharnessed ; bare. 
Gould suggested un6ar6er'd as the 
correct reading. But barbed == covered 
with armor was in common use (cf. RII. 
Ill, 3, 117, and RIII. I, 1, 10), and the 
word in Cor. Ill, 2, 99, probably means 
uncovered or without a helmet. The 
word is a corruption of bard. Chaucer 
uses barbe for a hood covering the head 
and shoulders. 
unbated. 1. Undiminished. Merch. II, 
6, 11. 

2. Unblunted ; without a button on the 
point. Hml. V, 2, 328. 
unbid. Unsought for ; unwelcome. 3HVI. 

V, 1, 18. 

unbent. A bow is said to be bent when 

it is ready for action. Imogen asks 

Pisanio why he is not ready ? why he, 

like a bow, is unbent ? Cym. Ill, 4, 111. 

unblown. Unopened. RIII. IV , 4, 10. 

unbolt. To disclose ; to reveal. Tim. I, 

1,51. 
unbolted. Literally, unsifted ; hence, 

coarse ; gross ; rank. Lr. II, 2, 71. 
unbonneted. This word has greatly 
puzzled the coms., and White says: 
"The question of manners, in Sh. time, 
as to the hat seems very difficult. The 
'remembering courtesy,' the 'off-cap- 
ping ' and the ' unbonneting ' are quite 
incongruous. No attempt to reconcile 
these expressions has been at all success- 
ful." It seems to me, however, that 
the difficulty lies in the language used 
rather than in the manners practiced ; 
amongst the Aryan nations it has always 
been courteous to remove the head- 
covering, and surely we understand 
what was meant by off- capping. 



Furness gives nearly a page of fine 
type to the notes and comments which 
have been written upon this word, and 
the 3rd Var. (Vol. IX, p. 240) discusses 
it very fully. The word unbonneted is 
used in Lr. Ill, 1, 14, in the sense of 
without a bonnet — unbonneted he runs. 
But cf. loose and unloose as ordinarily 
used. Now Cotgrave gives " bonneter: 
to put off his cap unto.'''' And if the 
French idiom had survived until the 
time of Sh. , to unbonnet would be, not 
' ' to put his cap off unto. ' ' Bos well, in the 
3rd Var., quotes "A. C." to this effect : 
"Unbonneted is uncovered, revealed, 
made known." Fuseli is quoted by 
Steevens as follows: "I am his equal 
or superior in rank ; and were it not so, 
such are my demerits, that unbonneted, 
without the addition of patrician or 
senatorial dignity, they may speak to 
as proud a fortune, etc. — At Venice, 
the bonnet as well as the toga, is a badge 
of aristocratic honours to this day." 
Staunton says : " The import we take 
to be, — my services when revealed 
( unbonneted ) may aspire or lay 
claim to {may speak to) as proud a 
fortune as this which I have attained." 
0th. I, 2, 23. See bonneted and de- 
merit. 

unbookish. Skilless ; foolish ; ignorant. 
0th. IV, 1, 102. 

unbraced. Unbuttoned. Caes. I, 3, 48 ; 
Hml. II, 1, 78. 

unbraided. Unfaded ; undamaged. Wint. 
IV, 4, 204. Braided is an old word 
meaning faded, given by Baily and by 
the N. E. D. White suggested em- 
broidered. 

unbreathed. Unexercised ; unpractised. 
Mids. V, 1, 74. cf. breathe. 

uncandied. Thawed ; dissolved. Kins. I, 
1, 107. 

uncape. To throw off the hounds ; to put 
them on the scent. Wiv. Ill, 3, 176. 
Warburton says it means : to dig out 
the fox when earthed; Steevens: to 
turn the fox out of the bag. Eds. are 
not at all agreed as to this word, but 
the general meaning is obvious. 



TJNC 



349 



UND 



uncase. To undress. LLL. V, 2, 707 ; 

Shr. I, 1, 213. cf. case. 
uncharge. To acquit of blame ; not to 

accuse. Hail. IV, 7, 68. 
uncharged. Unassailed, Tim. V, 4, 55. 
uncharmed. In Rom. I, 1 , 217, the word 

unharm'd, as found in the g.a. text, is 

xmchartn'' d in the Fl. Uiiharm,'' d is 

the reading of the Ql. and makes better 

sense. 
unchary. Heedlessly. Tw. Ill, 4, 222. 
unchecked. Uncontradicted. Merch. Ill, 

1,2. 
unciew. To unwind ; to undo. Tim. I, 

1, 168. 

uncoined. Unstamped. HV. V, 2, 161. 
Uncoined constancy = the constancy 
of a mind which had never borne the 
stamp of another. Also defined as un- 
feigned ; natural. 

uncolted. Deprived of his horse. IHI V. 
II 2 42 

uncomprehensive. Not understood ; not 
known. Troil. Ill, 3, 198. 

unconfirmed. Inexperienced. Ado. Ill, 

3, 124 ; LLL. IV, 2, 19. 

uncouth. This word occurs three times 
in Sh., viz., Lucr. 1598; As. II, 6, 6; 
Tit. II, 3, 211. In its original sense it 
meant strange, unfamiliar, and is merely 
the Anglo-saxon word for unknown. 
This sense it still retains in the Scottish 
unco, and it had not quite lost it in the 
time of Sh. , for in the first and last of the 
above quotations it distinctly bears that 
meaning. In the second quotation the 
meaning has been modified to ill-formed, 
rude, ungainly, and this is its usual 
signification at the present day. 

uncrossed. Not struck out ; not cancelled. 
Cym. Ill, 3, 26. When an account was 
paid, it was crossed out of the trades- 
man's book. 

uncurse. To take off a curse. RII. Ill, 

2, 137. 

undeaf. To cure of deafness. RII. II, 

1, 16. 
undeeded. Not noted for any exploit. 

Mcb. V, 7, 20. 
underbear. To face ; to trim. Ado. Ill, 

4, 21. 



underborne. Trimmed ; bordered ; some 
have suggested lined. Ado. Ill, 4, 21. 

undercrest. To wear as a crest. Cor. I, 
9,72. 

undergo. 1. To undertake. Gent. V, 4, 
42; Wint. II, 3, 164; Cses. I, 3, 123; 
Cym. Ill, 5, 110. 
2. To endure with firmness. Tp. I, 2, 
157 ; Cym. Ill, 2, 7. 

underskinker. An under drawer ; a tap- 
ster's helper. IHIV. II, 4, 26. 

undertaker. One who undertakes or gives 
assurance either for another or in re- 
gard to some special matter. The word 
occurs but twice in Sh., and a great deal 
of learning has been expended over the 
application of the term to certain ob- 
noxious government officials, but it 
seems to me that this is quite beside 
the question. Schm. defines it as "a 
meddler,' and in this he is followed, as 
usual, by most recent coms. In Tw. 
Ill, 4, 349, Antonio had assumed re- 
sponsibility for Viola ; he undertook 
for her, and Toby tells him. Nay, if 
you he an undertaker, i.e., if you want 
to stand in her shoes, / am for you. 
Meddler does not supply the idea re- 
quired here. Even the sagacious Fur- 
ness seems to lean towards the idea that 
the word undertaker was used here as a 
special term of contempt. I cannot 
think so. It seems to me that Sir 
Toby used it in its legitimate sense of 
surety, and I can hardly believe that 
he felt much contempt for the daring 
and combative Antonio. 

So in 0th. IV, 1, 224, And for Cassio, 
let Tne he his undertaker, evidently 
means, let me give assurance that he 
will be disposed of. The usual glosses : 
" Let me take care of him," or "let me 
deal with him," have none of the force 
conveyed by lago's words which are 
intended to assure Othello that he 
(lago) will be bondsman for his (Cassio's) 
taking-off. 

undervalued. Inferior in value. Merch. 
I, 1, 165. 

underwrite. To subscribe to ; to acknow- 
ledge. Troil. II, 3, 137. 



UND 



350 



TJNH 



underwrought. Undermined. Literally, 
worked under or beneath. John 11,1, 95. 

undeserver. A person of no merit. 2HIV. 
II, 4, 406. 

undeserving. Undeserved. LLL.V, 2, 366. 

undistinguished. The passage in Lr. IV, 
6, 278, O unclistinguish'' d space of 
ivoman''s will, has received several 
emendations, but unnecessarily so. The 
meaning is not far to seek. Hudson 
explains it thus: "Woman's will has 
no distinguishable bounds or no assign- 
able limits; there is no telling what 
she will do or where she will stop." 

undone. Solved. Per. I, 1, 117. 

uneared. Unplowed. Sonn. Ill, 5. 

uneatli. With diflficulty. Literally, with- 
out ease. 2HVI. II, 4, 8. 

unexperient. Inexperienced. Compl. 318. 

unexpressive. Inexpressible. As. Ill, 
2, 10. 

unfair, v. To deprive of beauty. Sonn. 
V,4. 

unf atlier'd heirs. Equivocal births ; ani- 
mals that had no animal progenitors. 
Johnson. Not produced in the ordinary 
course of nature. Staunton explains 
the expression as meaning certain so- 
called prophets, who pretended to have 
been conceived by miracle, like Merlin. 
Montaigne, in his " Essays," says : " In 
Mahomet's religion, by the easie beleefe 
of that people, are many Merlins found ; 
That is to say, fatherles children ; 
Spiritual children, conceived and borne 
devinely in the wombs of virgins. =' 
And the reader will no doubt call to 
mind the birth of Brian in the Third 
Canto of "The Lady of the Lake." 
2HIV. IV, 4, 122. 

unfellow'd. Without an equal. Hml. V, 
2, 150. 

unfenced. Without any protection. John 
II, 1, 386. 

unfold. 1. To release from a fold or pen. 
The unfolding star = the star that 
bids the shepherd unfold his sheep and 
turn them out to pasture. Meas. IV, 2, 
218. 

In illustration of this expression, 
Steevens quotes Milton's " Comus " : 



The star that bids the shepherd fold, 
Now the top of heaven doth hold. 

And Malone adds, from Marston's "In- 
satiate Countess " (1613) : 

So doth the evening star present itself 
Unto the careful shepherd's gladsome 

eyes 
By which unto the fold he leads his 

flock. 

Reference in both these instances is 
made to the evening star and to the in- 
folding of the flock; here the Duke 
refers to a morning star and to the un- 
folding of the flock. The star in both 
cases was most probably Venus, which 
at some seasons sets a little after the 
sun and, from its brilliancy, has been 
called the evening star. At other 
seasons, this planet rises a little before 
the sun, and hence has been called the 
morning star, or Lucifer, the light- 
bringer, the harbinger of day. The 
evening star is called Hesperus. All's. 

II, 1, 167. 

2. To make known; to display. Hml. I, 

1, 2 ; Cym. II, 3, 101. 

unfool. To take away the disgrace of 

being fooled. Wiv. IV, 2, 120. 
unfurnished. Uncompanioned ; without 

corresponding features. Merch. Ill, 2, 

126. 
ungenitured. It has not been quite settled 

whether this word, as it occurs in Meas. 

III, 2, 184, means un begotten (see line 
112 above) or impotent. 

ungird. To unbend ; to relax. Ungird 
thy strangeness (Tw. IV, 1, 16) = be 
communicative and unreserved. 

ungracious. Without grace ; wicked. Tw. 

IV, 1, 51 ; Hml. I, 3, 47. 
ungravely. Without gravity or dignity. 

Cor. II, 3, 233. 
unhaired. Beardless ; foolish ; not yet 
come to years of discretion. John V, 

2, 133. 

In the PI. this passage reads: This 
un - heard sawcinesse and boyish 
Troopes. Theobald corrected to un- 
haired, giving the following reasons : 
" Unheard is an epithet of very little 
force of meaning here; besides, let us 



TJNH 



351 



TJNL 



observe how it is coupled. Faulcon- 
bridge is sneering at the Dauphin's in- 
vasion as an unadvised enterprise, 
savouring of youth and indiscretion ; 
the result of childishness and unthinking 
rashness; and he seems altogether to 
dwell on this character of it, by calling 
his preparation ' boyish troops, dwarfish 
war, pigmy arms, etc.,' which, accord- 
ing to my emendation, sort very well 
with unhadred, i.e., unbearded sauci- 
ness," Malone notes that hair was 
formerly written hear, and so the mis- 
take might easily happen. 

Unhair''d is now found in the g. a. 
text, and the Globe and even the Cam- 
bridge ed. have adopted it. Schm, 
prefers unheard = unprecedented, and 
adds: "Modern ed. unhaired, in the 
sense of unbearded, in which the poet 
would hardly have used the word." 
unhandsome. 1. Unbecoming. As. Epi. 
2 ; IHIV. I, 3, 44. 
2. Unfair. Unhandsome warrior (0th. 

III, 4, 151) = unfair assailant. "A 
lovely reminiscence of her husband's 
having called her ' my fair warrior ' in 
the joy of his first meeting, on arrival." 
Cowdeyi-Clarkes. 

unhappy. Evil ; pernicious ; mischievous. 
Err. IV, 4, 127; LLL. V, 2, 12; All's. 

IV, 5, 6&. In the last passage = roguish ; 
full of tricks. 

unhappily. Mischievously; evilly. HVIII. 
I, 4, 89 ; Hml. IV, 5, 13 ; Lr. I, 2, 157. 

unhatched. 1. Undeveloped; which has 

not yet taken effect. Oth. Ill, 4, 140. 

2. Unbacked ; uninjured. Tw. 111,4,260. 

unheedy. Inconsiderate. Mids. I, 1, 237. 

unhelpful. Unaiding ; unavailing. 2HVI. 
Ill, 1, 218. 

unhoused. In regard to this word, as it 
occurs in Oth. I, 2, 26, Hunter, in his 
' ' New Illustrations, ' ' p. 282, says : ' ' This 
passage affords one of the best proofs of 
Shakespeare's acquaintance with the 
Italian language. Unhoused conveys 
to English eai-s no idea of anything 
which any one would be unwilling to 
resign ; and, in fact, it is only by re- 
collecting the way in which the Italians 



use cassare that we arrive at its true 
meaning, which is unmarried. A sol- 
dier was as much unhoused, in the 
ordinary meaning of the term, after 
marriage as before. Othello would not 
resign the freedom of his bachelor- 



estate.'''' 
unhouseled. 

Sacrament. 
unimproved. 



the 



Not having received 
Hull. I, 5, 77. 

Hml. I, 1, 96. Quite a 
number of meanings have been given to 
this word. Johnson: "Not regulated 
or guided by knowledge or experience." 
Schm. : " Not yet used for advantage ; 
not turned to account." Nares : "Un- 
reproved ; unimpeached. " Singer: "Un- 
tried." Staunton : " Insatiable, un- 
governable," etc., etc. 

unintelligent. Uninformed ; unaware of. 
Wint. I, 1, 16. 

union. A fine pearl. Hml. V, 2, 283. 
Under pretence of throwing a pearl 
into the cup, the king may be supposed 
to drop some poisonous drug into the 
wine. Hamlet seems to suspect this, 
when he after wards disco vers the effects 
of the poison, and tauntingly asks him, 
" Is thy union here ? " Steevens. 

unjointed. Incohei^ent. IHIV. I, 3, 65. 

unjust. 1. Dishonest. Wiiit. IV, 4, 688 ; 
IHIV. IV, 2, 30. 

2. Not founded in fact ; untrue. Ado. 
V, 1, 223. 

3. Faithless. Gent. IV, 4, 173 ; Meas. 
Ill, 1, 249. 

unkennel. To drive a fox from his earth ; 
to drive one from his hiding-place ; to 
disclose. Wiv. Ill, 3, 174; Hml. Ill, 

2, 86. 
unkind. 1. Unnatural. 

do. Ill, 4, 73. 
2. Childless. Ven. 204. 
kindless. 
unlace. 1. To uncover ; to expose to in- 
jury ; to damage ; to disgrace. Oth. II, 

3, 194. Thus the coms. Perhaps the 
idea is to loose or unfasten the reputa- 
tion and let it depart. 

2. To unfasten (referring to a woman's 
dress). Pilgr. 149. 
unlived. Deprived (5f life. Lucr. 1754. 



Lr. I, 1, 263; 
cf. kind and 



UNL 



352 



I'NR 



unlustrous. Wanting lustre ; non-illumi- 
nating. Cym. I, 6, 109. The Fl. reads 
illustrious. The emendation is due to 
Rowe. See illustrious. 

unmanned. This is a term in falconry ; 
a hawk is said to be unmanned when 
she is not yet accustomed to her keeper. 
A hood is a sort of cap used to prevent 
the hawk from seeing objects. Rom. 
Ill, 2, 14. See bate. 

unmastered. Unbridled; unrestrained. 
Hml. I, 3, 32. 

unmeritable. Devoid of merit. RIII. 
Ill, 7, 155 ; Cees. IV, 1, 12. 

unnumbered. Innumerable. Cses. Ill, 
1,63; Lr. IV, 6, 21. 

unowed. Having no owner. John IV, 3, 147. 

unpang'd. Free from pain or pangs. 
Kins. I, 1, 169. 

unpay. To undo. 2HIV. II, 1, 130. 

unpinked. Not pierced with eyelet-holes. 
Shr. IV, 1, 136. 

unpitied. Without pity ; unmerciful. 
Meas. IV, 2, 13. ^ 

unplausive. Displeased ; disapproving. 
Troil. Ill, 3, 43. 

unpolicied. Stupid ; devoid of policy. 
Ant. V, 2, 311. 

unpregnant. Stupid; unapt for business. 
Meas. IV, 4, 23 ; Hml. II, 2, 595. See 
pregnant. 

unprevailing. Unavailing. Hml. I, 2, 
107; cf. prevail in Rom. Ill, 3, 60. 
Dry den, "Essay on Dramatic Poetry," 
has : " He may often prevail himself of 
the same advantages. ' ' 

unprizable. 1. Of exceeding value ; in- 
valuable ; inestimable. Cym. I, 4, 99. 
2. Worthless ; not to be valued highly. 
Tw. V, 1, 58. 

Abbott, Sh. Gram., §3, says the word 
means ' ' not able to be made a prize of, 
captured," but this definition has not 
been generally accepted. Furness quotes 
the Cent. Diet.: "Incapable of being 
prized or of having its value estimated, 
as being either below valuation or above 
or beyond valuation." Furness adds: 
"Hence it follows that the meaning 
can be determined only by the context, 
which in the present passage is, I thmk, 



in favor of valueless. Thus ' unvalued ' 
is also used by Sh. with opposite mean- 
ings. In Hml. I, 3, 19, Laertes says of 
Hamlet, ' He may not as unvalued per- 
sons do, Carve for himself ; ' where 
unvalued means common, ordinary. In 
RIII. I, 4, 27, Clarence describes the 
sight in his dream of ' heaps of pearls, 
Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels,' 
where unvalued means uncommon, ex- 
traordinary. " 

unprized. Unvalued or, perhaps, price- 
less. Lr. I, 1, 262. 

unproper. Not one's own ; not peculiar 
to an individual ; common. 0th. IV, 
1, 69. cf. proper (1). 

Schm., followed as usual by several 
coms., sees here a quibble between two 
meanings which he gives to the word — 
"common" and "indecent." But it 
seems to me that there is no quibbling 
here; The context, which they dare 
swear pieculiar, would seem to confine 
it to the single meaning which we have 
given. And, besides, it was not a time 
for quibbles. Furness does not note any 
quibble, though he must have seen 
Schmidt's suggestion. 

unprovide. To deprive of what is neces- 
sary. 0th. IV, 1, 218. "Divest [my 
mind] of resolution." Johnson. The 
only instance of its use in Sh. 

unqualified. Unmanned; deprived of his 
faculties. Malone would undei'stand it 
to mean " unsoldiered " — quality being 
formerly common in the sense of " pro- 
fession." Ant. Ill, 11,44. 

unquestionable. Averse to question or 
conversation. As. III. 2, 393. 

This word is the reverse of question- 
able (Hml. I, 4, 43) i which means in- 
viting conversation, and does not mean 
suspicious, as it is often understood. 
See question and questionable. 

unraked. Not made up for the night. 
Wiv. V, 5, 48. In Sh. time, long before 
the invention of matches, fires were 
kept constantly burning, and at night 
they were "raked " or made up so as 
to consume very little fuel. See rake, v / 
also tinder. 



UNR 



353 



TINT 



unready. Undressed. 1HVI. II, 1, 39. 

unrecalling. Past recall ; that caimot be 
repealed. Lucr. 993. 

Schm. says : " Not the participle, but 
the gerund used ad jectively. " See also 
Sh. Gram., §372. 

unreclaimed. Untamed ; undisciplined. 
A term in falconry. Hml. II, 1, 34. 

unrecuring. Past cure ; uncurable. Tit. 
Ill, 1, 90. 

unresisted. Irresistible. Lucr. 282. 

unrespective. Unregarded ; unvalued. 
Troil. II, 2, 71. 

The termination ive is sometimes used 
by Sh. in a passive instead of as now in 
an active signification ; thus, incompre- 
hensive depths, etc. See Abbott's Sh. 
Gram., §445. See also sieve. 

unrip. To rip ; to cut open. RIII. I, 4, 
212. The un here is intensive as in un- 
loose. 

unrolled. Struck off the roll or register 
(of expert thieves). Wint. IV, 3, 130. 

unroosted. Driven from the roost ; hen- 
pecked. Wint, II, 3, 74. 

unrough. Unbearded. Mcb. V, 2, 10. 

unscanned. Inconsiderate ; unobservant. 
Cor. Ill, 1, 313. 

unseam. To rip ; to cut open. Mcb. I, 
2,22. 

unseasoned. 1. Untrained; inexperienced. 
All's. I, 1, 80. 
2. Unseasonable. 2HIV. Ill, 1, 105. 

unsecret. Wanting in secrecy. Troil. 

III, 2, 133. 

unseminared. Deprived of virility. Ant. 

I, 5, 11. 
unset. Unplanted. Sonn. XVI, 6. 
unshape. To disorder ; to derange. Meas. 

IV, 4, 23. 

unsifted. Untried; inexperienced. Hml. 
I, 3, 102. 

unsisting. Meas. IV, 2, 92. A doubtful 
word for which no satisfactory explana- 
tion has been offered. As a corrected 
reading, unresisting has been suggested, 
but has not been adopted, although it 
has actually been accepted as a defini- 
tion of the word in one of the large 
dictionaries I The Cent. Diet, does not 
mention it. Schm. and most corns. 



consider it a misprint. " Unshifting," 
' ' unresting, " " uulisting, ' ' have all been 
offered as emendations. Arthur Symons 
explains it as "perhaps shaking." It 
seems to me that this comes nearest to 
the real sense. The radical or etymo- 
logical meaning of the word would be 
" un-standing " (from Latin stare), 
which, of course, is = shaking. There 
is an old Scotch word, sist, now used 
only as a law term, which means to 
stop or make to stand (in relation to 
law proceedings). Unsisting may be 
related to this word. 

unsorted. Unsuitable. IHIV. II, 3, 13. 

unsphere. To remove from its orbit. 
Wint. I, 2, 48. See sphere. 

unsquared. Unsuitable. Troil. I, 3, 159. 

unstanched, I 1. Insatiate; unquenched. 

unstaunched. ) 3HVI. II, 6, 83. 
2. Incontinent. Tp. I, 1, 51. 

unstate. To divest of state or dignity. 
Lr. I, 2, 108 ; Ant. Ill, 13, 30. 

untempering. Unsoftening ; not produc- 
ing the desired effect. HV. V, 2, 241. 
cf. temper. 

untent. To bring out of the tent. Troil. 
II, 3, 178. 

untented. Not to be probed by a tent 
or probe; incurable ; unsearchable. Lr. 
I, 4, 322. cf. tent. 

unthread. As used in its ordinary sense, 
this word requires no gloss or comment, 
but as it occurs in John V, 4, 11, it has 
given some trouble. The phrase, un- 
thread the rude eye of rebellion, is 
rather obscure, and Theobald proposed 
untread the rude way, but the emend- 
ation has not been generally accepted. 
White adopted it in his first ed , but 
rejected it in his second. The combina- 
tion of "thread" with "eye" is so 
obviously apt that it hardly seems 
possible that either word singly should 
be corrupt. Then we have in Cor. Ill, 
1, 127 : They would not thread the 
gates. So that on the whole it would 
seem that the present reading is the 
true one, although the metaphor may, 
perhaps, be a little crude. But under any 
circumstances the general meaning is 



TINT 



354 



tJPC 



obvious enough. The Co wden- Clarices 
say : " The metaphor has the more pro- 
priety, because to thread the eye of a 
needle is a process of some difficulty, 
while to unthread a needle's eye is, on 
the contrary, one of the most easy of 
tasks; therefore, the proposal to un- 
thread the rude eye of rebellion ap- 
propriately metaphorizes the intricate 
course they have taken in forsaking the 
English side and revolting to the French, 
and also the facile one they would take 
in withdrawing themselves from it and 
returning to their natural allegiance." 
ef. RII. V, 5, 17, and Matthew xix, 25. 

untoward. Refractory; unmannerly. Shr. 
IV, 5, 79 ; John I, 1, 243. 

untraded. Not employed in common 
use ; unhackneyed. Troil. IV, 5, 178. 

untread. To retrace one's steps. Merch. 

II, 6, 10; John V, 4, 52. 
untrimmed. Stripped of ornamental dress. 

Sonn. XVIII, 8. The passage in John 

III, 1, 209, the devil tempts thee here 
In likeness of a new untrimmed bride, 
has occasioned some discussion. Theo- 
bald emended to and trimmed, but 
White, in his first ed., says: "An un- 
trimmed bride is a bride in deshabille, 
and in some such condition was Blanch 
on account of her unexpected nuptials." 
White thinks he sees an "obvious al- 
lusion to the temptation of Saint An- 
thony," though he admits that "it is, 
of course, not intimated that Blanch 
was then and there in a condition ap- 
proaching that in which the temptress 
of Saint Anthony is generally supposed 
to have won the victory for the devil." 
This, however, is, I think, too fine-spun. 
Moreover, untrimmed = en deshabille 
does not meet the case. Constance is 
enumerating attractions, not defects, 
and a woman untrimmed is not generally 
supposed to be as attractive as one well 
dressed. I cannot but think that those 
coms. who see here an allusion to the 
old custom of the bride's going to church 
with her hair dishevelled are right. 
It would then mean virgin bride, the 
strongest attraction that could be offered 



to a young man. Numerous passages 
from the poets may be cited in support 
of this view. Thus Webster in White 
Devil : 

Let them dangle loose 
As a bride's hair. 

In Spenser's " Prothalamion " we find: 
Locks all loose untyde, 
As each had bene a Bryde. 
Fleay, who is of this opinion, quotes 
Tancred and Gismunda (Dodsley, Vol. 
VII, p. 86) : 
So let thy tresses, flaring In the wind 
Untrimmed hang about thy bared neck. 

The lamented Marshall, whose judg- 
ment in such matters was excellent, 
seemed to favor this view. And see 
hair. 

untrussing. Unloosing the points of the 
hose. Meas. Ill, 2, 194. Certainly not 
" unpacking " as Schm. has it. 

untucked. Dishevelled. Compl. 31. 

untuneable. Not harmonious; discordant; 
not musical. Gent. Ill, 1, 208. 

It has been thought by some that this 
word, as it occurs in As. V, 3, 37, is a 
misprint for untimeable, the reply of 
the page leading to that conclusion. 
But " untuneable agrees better with 
what Touchstone afterwards says, ' God 
mend your voices. ' The page mistakes 
the point of the criticism, perhaps in- 
tentionally." Rolfe. 

unvalued. 1. Mean ; not of the nobility. 
Hml. I, 3, 19. 
2. Invaluable ; inestimable. RIII. 1, 4, 27. 

unweighed. Reckless. Wiv. II, 1, 23. 

unweighing. Thoughtless. Meas. Ill, 2, 
147. 

unwitted. Deprived of wit or intelligence. 
Oth. II, 3, 182. 

unworthy. Undeserved. RIII. I, 2, 88. 

unyoke. To cease work; to put off the 
yoke. Hml. V, 1, 57. 

unyoked. Uncontrolled; unbridled. IHIV. 
I, 2, 220. 

upcast. A throw or cast at bowls ; per- 
haps the final throw. Cym. II, 1, 2. 

Upon an upcast means by a throw 
from another bowler directed straight 
up. Johnson. 



UPS 



355 



tJTT 



up her. The expression found in Rom. 
IV, 2, 41, help to deck up her, is pecu- 
liar, Hudson and some others emend 
to deck her up. See line 45 below. We 
speak of "trimming up a hedge," 
"cleaning up a room," etc. The ex- 
pression is evidently idiomatic and 
should be allowed to stand. 

In Shakespeare the place of the word 
up in compounds and partial compounds 
seems in many instances to have been 
different from that now generally used. 
Thus we have upfill for fill up (Rom. II, 

3, 7) ; uphoard for hoard up (Hml. I, 1, 
136) ; uplock for lock up (Sonn. LII, 2) ; 
up-prick for prick up (Ven. 271), etc. 

Upright. Straight up; directly upward. 

Lr. IV, 6, 27 ; 2HVI. Ill, 1, 365. 
uproar, v. To throw into confusion. Mcb. 

IV, 3, 99. 
upstaring. Standing on end. Tp. I, 2, 

213. 
upshoot, [ The deciding shot. LLL. IV, 
upshot. S 1, 138 ; Hml. V, 2, 395. 
upspring. A boisterous sort of dance. 

Hml. I, 4, 9. Pope emended to upstart, 

meaning the king. 
Upswarm. To cause to rise in a swarm 

or in swarms. 2HIV. IV, 2, 30. 
up=till. Against ; up to. In Scottish and 

old English, till is frequently used where 

we would say to. Pilgr. 382. 
urchin. !. A hedgehog. Tit. II, 3, 101 ; 

Tp. I, 2, 326. In the latter passage it is 

possible that the word has the meaning 

given in the next definition. Urchin is 

still used in Scotland and the North of 

England for hedgehog. 
2. A kind of fairy or goblin. Wiv. IV, 

4, 49. Also in Tp. II, 2, 5, in the com- 
pound word urchin-shoiv. 

urge. To allege as a cause or reason. 
Ant. II, 2, 46. " Made use of my name 
as a pretext for the war." Warhurton. 

Ursula, dr. p. Attendant on Hero. Ado. 

Urswick, Christopher, dr.p. A priest. 
RIII. 

This person, who was chaplain to the 
Countess of Richmond and afterwards 
almoner to Kang Henry VII, is called 
Sir as being a priest. Dyce. See Sir. 



usance. Interest paid for use of money. 

Merch. I, 3, 46. 
use. Interest paid for borrowed money. 

Meas. I, 1, 41; Ado. II, 1, 288; Tw. Ill, 

1, 57. 

usurer's chain. Gold chains were for- 
merly worn by rich merchants; and 
merchants were the chief usurers of 
those days. Dyce. Ado. II, 1, 197. 

ut. The first note in G-uido's musical 
scale : ut, re, sol, la, mi, fa. LLL. IV, 

2, 102 ; Shr. Ill, 1, 76. 

utis. This word is from the French huit, 
eight, and signifies the eighth day or 
the space of eight days after any festival. 
It was a law term and occurs in some 
of the English statutes. Now more 
commonly called the octave. Any day 
between the feast and the eighth day 
was said to be within the utis or utas. 
Dyce. Here will he old utis = here 
will be a high old time. 2HIV. II, 4, 
22. See old. 

utter. To put forth ; to dispense. Hence 
to dispose of to the public in the way of 
trade. Schm. says: "not exactly = 
sell as the commentators explain it." 
This is true ; the words sell and utter 
are not synonymous, but the result is 
the same in both cases. In LLL. II, 1, 
16, beauty is bought by judgment of 
the eye, not uttered by base sale of 
chapmen''s tongues, "uttered" evi- 
dently means disposed of. Upon this 
passage Johnson has the following note : 
^'' Chaptnan here seems to signify the 
seller, not as now commonly the buyer. 
Cheap or cheaping was anciently the 
market: chapman is therefore market- 
man. The meaning is, that the esti- 
mation of beauty depends not on the 
uttering or proclamation of the seller, 
but on the eye of the buyer." This 
note has been frequently quoted with- 
out protest, although it contains a very 
obvious blunder. The uttering is not 
the proclamation of the seller, but the 
actual sale to or purchase by the buyer. 
The difficulty here lies in the word sale, 
not in the word utter ; the of is here, as 
in some other places (see Sh. Gram., 



VAC 



m 



VAL 



§ 170) =>= by, and the sense of the passage 
is : not disposed of by base sale (or pro- 
clamation) of chapmen's tongues. So 
in Wint. IV, 4, 330, utter = dispose of. 
The passage in Ado. V, 3, 20, has re- 
ceived many explanations, for which 
see Furness's ed. of the play, p. 275. 
The chief interpretations are : 1. The 
cry, graves yawn, etc., shall be raised 
till death. Schm. 2. That death is to 
be expelled (outer-ed) by the power of 
Heaven. An obscure allusion to the 
resurrection. White and others. 3. 
" Till death be uttered " means till 



death be overcome, vanquished to the 
utterance. Furness. 
utterance. Extremity; the " bitter end. " 
Mcb. Ill, 1, 72 ; Cym. Ill, 1, 73. On 
the first quotation, champion me to the 
utterance, Johnson remarks : " A chal- 
lenge or a combat a Voutrance [French], 
to extremity, was a fixed term in the 
law of arms, used when the combatants 
engaged with an odiu'in internecinum, 
an intention to destroy each other, in 
opposition to trials of skill at festivals, 
or on other occasions, where the contest 
was only for reputation or a prize." 




ACANCY. Unoccupied and idle 
time. If he filled his vacancy 
with his voluptuousness . Ant. 
I, 4, 26. On the passage in 
Ant. II, 2, 221, Whistling to the air; 
which, hut for vacancy, Had gone to 
gaze on Cleopatra, too, War burton 
makes a note: "Alluding to an axiom 
in the peripatetic philosophy then in 
vogue, that Nature abhors a vacttuwi." 
In other words : The air was chained to 
the spot lest its absence should create a 
vacuum. Line 223, And made a gap 
in nature, seems to confirm this view. 

vade. To fade. Pilgr. 131 ; RII. I, 2, 20. 

vail, n. A going down ; a setting. Troil, 
V, 8, 7. 

vail, V. To lower ; to let fall. Ven. 314 ; 
Meas. V, 1, 20 ; Hml. I, 2, 70. 

vagrom. A blunder for vagrant. Ado. 

III, 3, 26. 

vailful. Available; advantageous. Meas. 

IV, 6, 4. 

vails. Payment for services. Per. II, 1, 
157. This word, like the word wages, 
is generally used in the plural. It has 
given some trouble to the coms., some 
of whom make it = avails and print it 
'vails. "The Henry Irving Shake- 
speare" explains it as "perquisites. ' 
But it seems to have been a legitimate 
word for payment for services. It is 



used by Cotton (1670) in this sense, as 
the following extract from his " Voyage 
to Ireland " shows : 
A guide I had got, who demanded 

great vails 
For conducting me over the mountains 

of Wales ; 
Twenty good shillings, which sure 

very large is : 
Yet that would not serve, but I must 
bear his charges. 
From this it is very clear that the " per- 
quisites ' ' were extra and were not the 
"vails." 
vainly. Erroneously. 2HIV. IV, 5, 239. 
vainness. 1. Falseness. Tw. Ill, 4, 389. 
2. Vanity ; boastfulness. HV. V, Chor. 
20. 
valance, n. A short curtain or fringe; 
generally used upon a bedstead, Shr. 
II, 1, 356. 
valance, v. To fringe or decorate with a 
valance ; used figurately in regard to the 
beard. Hml. II, 2, 451. 
Valdes. Name of a pirate in Per. IV, 1, 
97. It is noticeable that an admiral in 
the Spanish Armada bore the same 
name. 
Valentine. Halliwell has this note on 
Hml. IV, 5, 50: "This song alludes to 
the custom of the first girl seen by a 
man on the morning of this day being 
considered his Valentine or true-love." 



VAL 



357 



VAS 



Valentine, dr. p. A geutleinan of Verona. 

Gent. 
Valentine, dr. p. Attendant on the Duke 

of Illyria. Tw. 
Valeria, dr.20. Friend to Virgilia. Cor. 
Valerius, dr.p. A Theban nobleman. 

Kins. 
validity. 1. Efficacy. Hml. Ill, 2, 199. 

2. Value. All's. V, 3, 192 ; Lr. I, 1, 83. 

3. Woi'th or dignity. Johnson. Rom. 
Ill, 3, 33. 

valued. Having the value of each item 
estimated. Valued file = a list in which 
the good are distinguished from the 
worthless. Mcb. Ill, 1, 95. 

vanish'd. Dowden, in his valuable ed. 
of the play, has this note on Rom. Ill, 
3, 10, A gentler judgement vanished 
from his lips : "No such use of vanish 
is found elsewhere In Sh., for breath 
vanishing from the lips like smoke (in 
Lucr, 1041) is not a parallel. Massinger, 
however, in the Reyiegado, V, 3, has : 
' Upon those lips from which those sweet 
words vanished,' which Keightley sup- 
poses was written on the authority of 
the present passage. Heath conjectured 
issued. I suspect that banishment in 
the next line misled the printer ; but 
possibly (and it is strange that this has 
not been suggested) Shakespeare wrote : 

A gentler judgment — ' banish'd ' from 
his lips." 

Vanity. On this passage in Lr. II, 2, 39, 
Dyce has this note: "The coms. may 
be right in seeing here an allusion to 
the character of Vanity in some of the 
early Moralities or Moral-plays, but 
we occasionally meet with similar pass- 
ages where there does not appear to be 
any such allusion ; e.g. : 

Young Mistris Vanity is also sad. 
Because the parrat's dead she lately 
had, etc. 

— ^Wither's Abuses Stript and Wliipt — Joy, 
p. 141, ed. 1617." 

Here, as in many other passages of our 
old writers, "puppet" may be nothing 
else than a term of contempt for a 
female. See Iniquity. 



vantage. 1. In addition to ; to boot. 
Hml. Ill, 3, 33 ; 0th. IV, 3, 86. 

2. Fa voidable condition. Gent. I, 3, 82 ; 
Mcb. I, 3, 113. 

3. Superiority. Lucr. 249 ; Mids. I, 1, 
102 ; HV. Ill, 6, 153. 

vara. Costard's way of pronouncing very. 

LLL. V, 2, 487. 
Varrius, dr.j). Friend to Pompey. Ant. 
varlet. 1. A servant to a kni'ght (used 
without implying reproach). HV. IV, 
2, 2 ; Troil. I, 1, 1. Really the same 
word as the modern valet. 
2. A term of reproach; knave; rascal. 
Tp. IV, 1, 170; Wiv. I, 3, 106; IHIV. 
II, 2, 25. 
varletry. Rabble ; mob. Ant. V, 2, 56. 
Varro, dr.p. Servant to Brutus. Cses. 
vary. Change ; caprice. Lr. II, 2, 85. 
vant brace. Armor for the arm. Troil. 

I, 3, 397. cf. brace. 
Vapians. Sir Andrew's quotation from 
Feste's nonsensical speech: "the Vapians 
passing the Equinoctial of Queubus," 
which, as Leigh Hunt says, is "some 
glorious torrid zone, lying beyond three 
o'clock in the morning" has caused 
some discussion without any result, and 
no wonder. It is mere nonsense, but 
very good nonsense or, as Sir Andrew 
calls it, "very gracious fooling." 
Brewer, in his "Reader's Handbook," 
says of it : " ' The Equinoctial of Queu- 
bus,' a line in ' the unknown sea ' passed 
by the Vapians on the Greek kalends of 
the Olympiad era, B.C. 777, according 
to the authority of Quinapalus." After 
some discussion of this "gracious fool- 
ing," Furnesssays, in a sort of tentative 
manner : "It is not exclusively to 
Rabelais that we should look for light, 
but also to Astrology and to conjuring. 
And this leads to the only feeble little 
ray that here dawns on me. At the 
risk of being deemed a copesmate of Sir 
Andrew, I am willing to confess that in 
the distorted ' Pigrogromitus ' I think 
we may possibly find Sir Andrew's 
version of the Tetragramviaton.''^ 
vast. A waste (sea or land). Wint. I, 1, 
33 ; Per. Ill, 1, 1. Vast of night = the 



VAS 



im 



VEN 



dead void of night when living things 
have aU retired. Tp. I, 2, 327 ; Hml. I, 
2, 198. 

A number of extended comments have 
been written about this expression and 
various readings have been suggested, 
e.g., waist, intimating the middle of the 
night and waste = dead or void. The 
word vast as used here needs no anaend- 
ment and scarcely a gloss. It is one of 
those expressions of Sh. which convey 
precisely the idea he intended to impart, 
and this often without our being able 
to accurately define the words employed. 
"In the dead vast and middle of the 
night" impresses us with just that 
" eerie " feeling appropriate to all the 
circumstances of the case. Vast, ac- 
cording to Skeat, is a 16th century word, 
and both waste and vast are originally 
the same. About the time of Sh. the 
two words seem to have been differ- 
entiated as to their meanings, but vast 
seemed to carry with it the idea of 
waste as well as of immensity. 

vastidity. Immensity. Meas. Ill, 1, 69. 

vastly. Like a waste. Lucr. 1740. See 
vast. 

vasty. Boundless ; vast. Merch. II, 7, 
41 ; IHIV. Ill, 1, 52; HV., Prol. 12. 

Vaughan, Sir Thomas, dr.p. RIII. 

vaultages. Caverns. HV. II, 4, 124. 

vaulty. Arched; vaulted. John III, 4, 
30, and V, 2, 52; Rom. Ill, 5, 22. 

vaunt. 1. The beginning. Troil., Prol. 
27. From the French avant. 
2. Boast; brag. 2HVI. Ill, 1, 50. 

vaunt=courier. A forerunner. Lr. Ill, 
2, 5. 

Vaux, dr.p. 2HVI. 

Vaux, Sir Nicholas, dr.p. HVIII. 

vaward. 1. The vanguard of an army. 
HV. IV, 3, 130; Cor. I, 6, 53. In IHVL 
1, 1, 132, he being in the vaward, placed 
behind, the term vaward has given rise 
to an apparent contradiction which 
Hanmer and Theobald have tried to 
avoid by changing vaward to rearward. 
But the vaward of an army is not a 
mathematical line without breadth or 
thickness ; it has a front and a rear of 



its own, and this may explain the ap- 
parent confusion. Clarke's explanation 
is : Fastolfe, being in the front line of 
his own troop, at the head of his own 
division, was placed behind the main 
body of the army. 
2. The forepart of anything. Mids. IV, 

I, 110 ; 2HIV. I, 2, 199. 
vegetives. Vegetables. Per. Ill, 2, 36. 
Velutus, Sicinius, dr.p. Tribune of the 

people. Cor. 

velure. Velvet. Shr. Ill, 2, 62. 

velvet guards. Velvet trimmings on 
ladies' dresses. IHIV. Ill, 1, 261. By 
this expression is meant the higher class 
of female citizens whose gowns (at least 
their holiday ones) were guarded with 
velvet. Malone. See guards. 

veney. A term in fencing; literally, a 
coming on or onset ; a turn or bout ; a 
hit or touch. Used metaphorically for 
a repartee or sally of wit. Wiv. I, 1, 
296 ; LLL. V, 1, 62. Also spelled venue, 
venew and veny. 

vengeance, n. Mischief ; injury. As. 
IV, 3, 48 ; Tim. II, 3, 113. 

vengeance, adv. Excessively; very. Cor. 

II, 2, 6. As an adj. in Kins. II, 3, 71, it 
means either dangerous or that he is 
very expert at the " trick o' the hip." 

Venice, Duke of, dr.p. 0th. and Merch. 

Venice. In regard to the passage in Ado. 
I, 1, 273, if Cupid have not spent all 
his quiver in Venice, Capell tells us 
that "Venice was in Shakespeare's 
time, and is now, of such celebrity for 
its dissolute gallantries, that there is 
small occasion for extracts from any 
writer to prove the fitness of making 
that city the exhauster of all Cupid's 
quiver." All the writers of the 18th 
century agree in representing Venice in 
the same light as the ancients did 
Cyprus. 

vent, n. Escape; utterance. All's. II, 
3, 213 ; Ant. V, 2, 352. 

This word, as it occurs in Cor. IV, 5, 
238, full of vent, has been explained as 
" like wine, full of working, effervescent, 
opposed to 'mulled.' " It has also been 
claimed that it is a hunting term, mean- 



VEH 



359 



VER 



iug to wind or scent game, and it is sup- 
posed that war is conceived as a dog full 
of the excitement of the chase and 
straining at the leash. But Sh, nowhere 
uses the word in this sense, and uses 
it often, both as verb and noun, in its 
ordinary sense. Here it signifies the 
escape or relief of boisterous spirits. 

vent, V. 1. To void ; to get rid of. Tp, 
II, 2, 111 ; Cym. I, 2, 5 ; Cor. I, 1, 229. 
2. To utter ; to give expression to. As. 
II, 7, 43 ; Tw. IV, 1, 10. 

ventages. The holes in a flute or flageo- 
let which regulate the note. Hml. Ill, 
2, 373. 

Ventidius, dr.p. One of Timon's false 
friends. Tim. 

Ventidius, dr.p. A friend to Antony. 
Ant. 

ventricle. A cavity. LLL. IV, 2, 70. 

Venus. The goddess of love ; referred to 
many times in Sh. works. Before she 
was identified with the Greek goddess, 
Aphrodite, she was one of the least im- 
portant of the Roman divinities, al- 
though her worship was established at 
an early date. But the Romans identi- 
fied her with the Greek goddess and all 
the legends pertaining to the latter were 
attributed to Venus. She is said to 
have surpassed all the other goddesses 
in beauty and to have had the power to 
make others beautiful and beloved. She 
had a magic girdle and whoever wore 
it immediately became the object of love 
and desire. Through her influence Paris 
won Helen from her husband, Menelaus. 
See Paris. 

In the Iliad she is said to have been 
the daughter of Jupiter and Dione ; 
later traditions make her the daughter 
of Saturn, but the poets most f i-equently 
relate that she arose from the foam of 
the sea. She was the wife of Vulcan, 
but was faithless to him and carried on 
an intrigue with Mars, whence she is 
called, in Tp. IV, 1, 98, Mars's hot 
minion. Vulcan caught them both in 
an invisible net and exposed thena to 
the ridicule of the assembled gods. 
In the vegetable kingdom the myrtle, 



rose, apple, poppy, etc., were saci'ed to 
her. The animals which are sacred to 
her are the sparrow, the dove, the swan 
and the swallow, and they are men- 
tioned as her messengers or as drawing 
her chariot. The planet, Venus, and 
the month of April are likewise sacred 
to her. See Cytherea. 

The wicked bastard of Venus (As. 
IV, 1, 216) is, of course, Cupid. 

Ver. The spring ; season after winter. 
Kins. I, 1, 7. 

verbal. 1. Literal ; word for word. Ven. 
831. 

2. Expressed in words. Lr. IV, 3, 26. 
Furness explains this line thus: "Did 
she give you to understand her meaning 
by words as well as by the foregoing 
external testimonies of sorrow ? " 

3. Plain-spoken or, according to some, 
verbose. Cym. II, 3, 111. 

verdict. Literally, a true saying. IsH a 
verdict? = do I say right ? are we 
agreed ? Cor. I, 1, 11. 

verge. Space ; bound ; compass. RII. II, 

I, 103 ; RIII. IV, 1, 59. 

Verges, dr.p. A foolish old oflUcer. Ado. 
Vernon, dr.p. Of the White Rose or 

York faction. IHVI. 
Vernon, Sir Richard, dr.p. IHIV. 
versal. A corruption of universal. Rom. 

II, 4, 219. 

verses. The line. By magic verses have 
contrived his end (IHVI. 1, 1, 27) refers 
to the notion which was prevalent for a 
long time that life might be taken away 
by metrical charms. " As superstition 
grew weaker, these charms were imag- 
ined only to have power on irrational 
animals. In our author's time it was 
supposed that the Irish could kill rats 
by a song." Johnson, cf. As. Ill, 2, 
188. 

The fanciful idea that rats were com- 
monly rhymed to death, in Ireland, 
arose probably from some metrical 
charm or incantation used for that pur- 
pose. Sir W. Temple seems to derive 
it from the Runic incantations; for, 
after speaking of them in various ways, 
he adds : "And the proverb of rhyming 



VES 



360 



VIC 



rats to death came, I suppose, from the 
sam.e root." 
Vesta. Although her name does not occur 
in Sh., the word Vestal cannot be well 
understood without a knowledge of her 
mythological character. 

She was one of the great Roman 
divinities and was the goddess of the 
hearth. In the ancient Roman house 
the hearth was the central part, and 
around it all the inmates daily assembled 
for their common meal ; every meal 
thus taken was a fresh bond of union 
and affection among the members of a 
family, and at the same time an act of 
worship of Vesta combined with a 
sacrifice to her and the Penates. Every 
dwelling-house, therefore, was, in some 
sense, a temple of Vesta, but a public 
sanctuary united all the citizens of the 
state into one large family. This sanc- 
tuary stood in the Forum, between the 
Capitoline and Palatine hills, and not 
far from the temple of the Penates. 
The goddess was not represented in her 
temple by a statue, but the eternal fire 
burning on her hearth or altar was her 
living symbol. This fire was believed 
to have been brought by JEneas from 
Troy along with the images of the 
Penates, and it was continually watched 
and kept up by Vestals who were sup- 
posed to be chaste and pure maidens. 
The extinction of this fire was con- 
sidered as the most fearful of all pro- 
digies and emblematic of the extinction 
of the state. If such misfortune befell 
and was caused by the carelessness of 
the priestess on duty, she was stripped 
and scourged by the Pontif ex Maximus, 
in the dark and with a screen inter- 
posed, and he rekindled the flame by 
the friction of two pieces of wood from 
afelix arbor. 

Supreme importance was attached to 
the purity of the Vestals, and a terrible 
punishment awaited her who violated 
the vow of chastity. When condemned 
by the college of pontifices, she was 
stripped of her vittae and other badges 
of office, was scourged, attired like a 



corpse and borne to a small underground 
vault which had been previously pre- 
pared. There she was actually buried 
alive, the earth over the vault being 
leveled and made to conform to the 
surrounding ground. In every case the 
paramour was publicly scourged to 
death in the Forum. 

To compensate for this life of priva- 
tion they had numerous and important 
privileges and honors, and after a ser- 
vice of thirty years they might retire, 
re-enter life and even marry. 
Vestal, n. A priestess of Vesta. Ven. 
752 ; Lucr. 883 ; Ant. Ill, 12, 31 ; Per. 
IV, 5, 7. Hence, a chaste woman. Mids. 

II, 1, 158, and ironically in Err. IV, 4, 
78, the allusion being to her taking care 
of the kitchen fire. See Vesta and of. 
tinder. 

very. True. Gent. Ill, 2, 41; Merch. 

III, 2, 226. 

Vestal, adj. Pure ; chaste. Rom. II, 3, 
8 ; Per. Ill, 4, 10. 

via. 1. Off with you! go! Merch. II, 2, 11. 
2. Florio, in his " Italian and English 
Diet.," gives: "Via, an adverbe of 
encouraging much used by commanders, 
as also by riders to their horses, Goe on, 
forward, on, away, goe to, on quickly." 
3HVI. II, 1, 182. 

As it occurs in LLL. V, 1, 156, it 
evidently means "speak out." The 
word has various meanings according 
to the words to which it is joined. 

vice, n. 1. A well-known mechanical 
tool consisting of two jaws which may 
be forced together with a screw. Hence 
it signifies a tight grasp or hold. 2HIV. 
II, 1, 34. As it occurs in Ado. V, 2, 21, 
it probably has the same meaning. 
Some have defined it as a screw, from 
the French vis (from which it is un- 
doubtedly derived), but the tool which 
is known to us as a vice is described by 
Moxon (1677) under that name. Thoms 
calls attention to the well-known fact 
(as shown in numerous engravings) that 
the circular bucklers of the 16th century, 
now called more commonly "targets," 
had f i-equently a central spike or ' 'pike * ' 



VIC 



361 



VIN 



which was usually screwed into the 
center of the buckler. It is evident that 
to turn this screw in with sufficient force 
to make it hold firmly, must have re- 
quired the use of a vice. But there 
is evidently a coarse quibble in Bene- 
dict's speech, and the word might mean 
either a vice or a screw. 

2. A character in the old Moralities or 
Moral-plays frequently referred to by 
Sh,, and evidently so named from the 
vicious qualities attributed to him. 
Usually he was a mischievous buffoon ; 
he wore sometimes the parti-coloured 
dress of a fool, a feature which Dyce 
thinks gave rise to the expression "a 
king of shreds and patches." Like the 
fool, he was sometimes furnished with 
a dagger of lath, and it was not unusual 
that it should be gilt. With this he 
belabored the devil till he made him 
roar. Tw. IV, 2, 134; Hml. Ill, 4, 98. 
Bee iniquity; nails; vanity. 

vice, V. Generally explained as, to screw. 

Wint. I, 2, 416; and c/. Tw. V, 1, 

135. 
vicious. Blameable ; wrong. 0th. Ill, 

3, 145 ; Cyrn. V, 5, 65. 

victualler. In 2HIV. II, 4, 375, all victu- 
allers do so, Steevens notes that "the 
brothels were formerly screened, under 
pretext of being victualling houses and 
taverns, ^^ just as they are in New York 
at present under the name of " Raines' 
Law Hotels." 

vie. 1. To compete ; to rival. Ant. V, 
2,98; Per. 111,1,26. 
2. A term at gleek, Primero and other 
games signifying to challenge or invite. 
In one of G-ifford's notes on Jonson's 
works we read : "To vie was to hazard, 
to put down, a certain sum upon a hand 
at cards; to retn'e was to cover it with 
a larger sum, by which the challenged 
became the challenger, and was to be 
revied in his turn, with a proportionate 
increase of stake. This vying and re- 
vying upon each other continued till 
one party lost courage and gave up the 
whole, or obtained, for a stipulated j 
sum, a discovery of his antagonist's | 



cards, when the best hand swept the 
table." Shr. II, 1, 311. 
viewless. Invisible. Meas. Ill, 1, 124. 
vigitant. Evidently a blunder of Dog- 
berry for vigilant. Ado. Ill, 3, 100. 
villagery. Either a district of villages or 
simply a village and its outlying houses. 
Mids, II, 1, 35, This is the only known 
instance of the occui'rence of this word, 
villain. 1. Originally this word signified 
merely a feudal serf who belonged to 
the land and whose rights as regards 
property, real or personal, were quite 
limited. Contrary to the definition 
given by many authors (Schm. and 
others), "the villain was not a slave, 
but a freeman minus the very important 
rights of his lord." {E. A. Freeman, 
"Norman Conquest.") For full dis- 
cussion see Cent. Diet., s.v. villain. 
Hence, a base-born person ; a peasant ; 
a clown. Lucr. 1338 ; As. I, 1, 59 ; Tit. 
IV, 3, 73; Lr. 111,7,78. 
2. A rascal ; a scoundrel. Tp, I, 2, 309; 
Hml. I, 5, 106 J do. I, 5, 108 ; Oth. 1, 1, 118. 
On the passage in Hml. I, 5, 123, 
There^s ne''er a villain dwelling in all 
Denmark but he^s an arrant knave, 
Seymour remarks: "Hamlet begins 
these words in the ardour of sincerity 
and confidence; but suddenly alarmed 
at the magnitude of the disclosure he is 
going to make, not only to Horatio, but 
to another besides, he breaks off hastily : 
' There's ne'er a villain in all Denmark ' 
that can match (perhaps he would have 
said) my uncle in villainy ; and then, 
recollecting the danger of such a declar- 
ation, he pauses for a moment and then 
abruptly concludes : ' but he's an arrant 
knave.' " 

3. Sometimes used as a term of endear- 
ment, just as we hear children fondly 
called " little rogue" and "little rascal. " 
Err. I, 2, 19 ; Wint. I, 2, 136; Tw. II, 5, 
16; Troil. Ill, 2, 35. 
villain, adj. Same as preceding (2) but 
used ad jectively, Merch. II, 8, 4; RIII. 
IV, 4, 144 ; Cym, IV, 2, 71. 
villiago. A base coward. (Italian, vigli- 
acco.) 2HVI. IV, 8, 49. 



VIN 



362 



VIX 



vinaigre. Vinegar. (French; literally, 
sour wine.) See raort. 

Vincentio, dr.p. Duke of Vienna. Meas. 

Vincentio, dr.p. An old gentleman of 
Pisa. Shr. 

vindicative. Revengeful. Troil. IV, 5, 107. 

vinewed'st. Most mouldy, Troil. II, 1, 15. 

viol. Said to be a six-stringed guitar. 
RII. I, 3, 163. 

Viola, dr.p. In love with the Duke of 
lUyria. Tw. 

viol=de=gamboys. A base viol or viol da 
gamba. Tw. I, 3, 27. "It appears, 
from numerous passages in our old plays, 
that a viol de gambo was an indispens- 
able piece of furniture in every fashion- 
able house, where it hung up in the 
best chamber, much as the guitar does 
in Spain and the violin in Italy, to be 
played on at will and to fill up the void 
of conversation. Whoever pretended 
to fashion affected an acquaintance with 
this instrument. " Gifford. It was so 
called because it was held between the 
legs, gamba being Italian for legs. 

Violenta, dr.p. Neighbor to Widow of 
Florence. All's. 

violenteth. Is violent. Troil. IV, 4, 4. 

Virgilia, dr.p. Wife to Coriolanus. Cor. 

virgin, v. To be chaste ; to keep uncon- 
taminated. Cor. V, 3, 48. 

virginal, n. Generally used in the plural 
and frequently, though erroneously, 
spoken of as a pair of virginals. It was 
" an instrument of the spinnet kind, but 
made quite rectangular, like a small 
piano-forte." Nares. The name was 
probably derived from their being used 
by young girls. Kins. Ill, 3, 34. 

virginal, v. To pat or tap with the finger 
as if playing upon a yirginal. Wint. 
I, 2, 125. 

virgin knight. " Knight, in its original 
signification, means follower or pupil, 
and in this sense may be feminine. 
Helena, in All's. [I, 3, 120], uses knight 
in the same signification." Johnson. 
Steevens explains the expression as 
virgin hero, i.e., one who had not yet 
achieved any adventure, and adds that 
" Hero had as yet atchieved no matri- 



monial one. " Ado. V, 3, 13. But this in- 
terpretation is not only far-fetched, but 
clearly inapplicable here. Malone quotes 
from The Two Noble Kinsmen : 

O sacred, shadowy, cold and constant 
queen, 
— who to thy female knights 
AUow'st no more blood than will make 
a blush, 
Which is their order's robe — 

Dyce calls attention to Wiv. II, 1, 15 
and 16, where night is made to rhyme 
to knight. 
virtue. 1. Valor; bravery. Among the 
Romans the predominant signification 
of virtus. Cor. I, 1, 41 ; do. II, 2, 88 ; 
Lr. V, 3, 103 ; Kins. Ill, 6, 82. 

2. Accomplishments. Per. IV, 6, 195. 

3. Power ; abilitv ; efficiency. Sonn. 
LXXXI, 13 ; Merch. V, 1, 101 ; HVIII. 
V, 3, 50 ; 0th. I, 3, 320. 

4. The essence ; the ultimate substance. 
Tp. I, 2, 27 ; Mids. IV, 1, 174. 

5. Personification. 2HIV. II, 4, 51; 
HVIII. Ill, 1, 103 (with a quibble on 
cardinal virtues). Tim. Ill, 5, 7. 

virtuous. Powerful; efficacious. Meas. 
II, 2, 168 ; Mids. Ill, 2, 367 ; 0th. Ill, 
4, 111. 

Sir Toby Belch's question : Dost thou 
think, because thou art virtuous, there 
shall be no more cakes and ale ? (Tw. 
II, 3, 123) is thus explained by Lether- 
land: "It was the custom on holidays 
and saints' days to make cakes in honour 
of the day. The Puritans called this 
superstition ; and [in line 151 of this 
same act and scene] Maria says that 
' Malvolio is sometimes a kind of puri- 
tan.' See Quarlous's Account of Rabbi 
Busy, Act I, Sc. 3, in Ben Jonson's 
Bartholomew Fair." 

visitating. Surveying; viewing. Kins. 
I, 1, 146. The etymological meaning of 
the word. 

visitings. Fits ; attacks. Mcb. I, 5, 46. 

vixen. Properly, a she-fox ; hence, ap- 
plied to an ill-tempered, spiteful, snap- 
pish woman. Mids. Ill, 2, 324. 

The form of the word is especially in- 
teresting as being the' only instance in 



VIZ 



363 



VUL 



which the feminine termination en has 
been preserved. 

vizaments. The Welsh priest's corrup- 
tion of advisements. Wiv. I, 1, 39. 

Vllorxa. See Ullorxa. 

vlouting stogs. The Welshman's pro- 
nunciation of flouting-stocks, i.e., laugh- 
ing-stocks. Wiv. IV, 5, 83. 

voice, n. Authority ; direction. Mids. 
I, 1, 54 ; All's. II, 3, 60. 

voice, V. 1. To report; to proclaim. Tim. 
IV, 3, 81. 

2. To nominate ; to vote for. Cor. II, 
3, 242. 

voiding=lobby. Ante-room. 2HVI. IV, 
1, 61. 

volable. Quick-witted. LLL. Ill, 1, 67. 

Voltimand, dr.p. A courtier. Hml. 

voluble. Fickle ; inconstant. Oth. II, 
1, 242. 

Volumnia, dr.p. Mother to Coriolanus. 
Cor. 

Volumnius, dr.p. Friend to Brutus and 
Cassius. Caes. 

voluntary. A volunteer. John II, 1, 67 ; 
Troil. II, 1, 106. 

vomit. The passage in Cym. I, 6, 44 to 
46, has called forth explanations from 
several corns. lachimo, in his pretended 
rapture, makes a comparison between 
Imogen and some "jay of Italy," and 
declares that the latter is, in comparison, 
so sluttish that to one who has once 
beheld Imogen, she would cause nausea 
in the hungry, i.e., in those who are 
empty. A common idea with the poets. 
cf. Burns's "Tarn o' Shanter" — gazing 
on the " wither 'd beldams, auld and 
droll, " and the poet wondering why it 
" did na turn his stomach." 
votaress. A devotee ; one consecrated 
by a vow or solemn promise. Mids. II, 
1, 123 and 163 ; Per. IV, Prol. 4. Also 
spelt votress. 
votarist. A votary ; one who has taken a 
vow ; masculine of votaress. Tim. IV, 

3, 27 ; Meas. I, 4, 5 ; Oth. IV, 2, 190. 
Vox. Latin for voice ; it also means tone ; 

accent. When Feste tells Olivia that 
she must allow Vox, he means that she 
must aUow him to read Malvolio's letter 



with the appropriate tone, i.e., loud and 
madman-like. The meaning is obvious, 
though some corns, have been puzzled 
over it. Heath says, " this word hath 
absolutely no meaning." Tw. V, 1, 304. 
Vulcan. The Roman god of fire whose 
worship was of considerable political 
importance at Rome at an early day. 
The Roman poets transferred all the 
stories relating to the Greek Hephaestus 
to their own Vulcan, the two divinities 
having, in the course of time, been com- 
pletely identified. According to the 
Homeric account, Hephaestus or Vulcan 
was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Hera 
(Juno). He is the god of fire, especially 
in so far as it manifests itself as a power 
of physical nature in volcanic districts, 
and in so far as it is the indispensable 
means in arts and manufactures, and 
hence he is regarded as a skilful work- 
man in all arts carried on by fire. Ado. 
I, 1, 187. His workshop was at first on 
Olympus, but later poets assign him 
some volcanic isle with the Cyclopes, 
Brontes, Steropes and others as his 
workmen and assistants. The flames 
and foul gasses which issue from these 
places were thus accounted for, and 
hence the allusion in Hml. Ill, 2, 89. 
His favorite workshop was on the isle 
of Lemnos. 

He is said to have been quite lame, 
his legs being very weak and sustained 
by artificial supports skilfully made of 
gold. Some say he was lame from 
birth; others, that he was made lame 
by his fall when Jupiter threw him out 
of heaven for taking the part of his 
mother in one of her quarrels with his 
father. But during the best period of 
Grecian art, he was represented as a 
vigorous man, with a beard, and was 
characterised by his hammer or some 
other instrument, his oval cap and the 
chiton which leaves the right shoulder 
and arm uncovered. He is among the 
male what Minerva is among the female 
deities, for, like her, he gave skill to 
mortal artists and, conjointly with her, 
he was believed to have taught men the 



VTJL 



364 



WAI 



arts which embellish and adorn life. 
He had the most beautiful of the god- 
desses for his wife, but she proved un- 
faithful and preferred the more showy 
and handsome Mars to her brainy and 
skilful husband. Hence, the allusion in 
Tit. II, 1, 89, to Vulcan'' s badge, i.e., 
the cuckold's horns. See Venus. 

vulgar, n. 1. The common people. HV. 
IV, 7, 80 ; Gees. I, 1, 75 ; Wint. II, 1, 94. 
2. The common tongue; vernacular. 
LLL. IV, 1, 70; As. V, 1, 53. 

vulgar, adj. Common ; ordinary ; pub- 



lic. Hml. I, 2, 99; Err. Ill, 1, 100; 
Lr. IV, 6, 214. 

In the time of Sh. this word did not 
convey the opprobrious meaning that it 
now carries. Thus, in Tw. Ill, 1, 135, 
Viola says : for His a vulgar proof, 
that is, a common, an obvious proof. 
The vulgar heart (2HVI. I, 3, 90) = the 
heart of the people. A vulgar station 
(Cor. II, 1, 231) = a standing place in 
the crowd. 
vulgarly. Publicly. It does not mean 
rudely or obscenely. Meas. V, 1, 160. 




f7?AFER=CAKE. A very thin, 
brittle cake. For oaths are 
straws, 'inen''s faiths are 
wafer-cakes. HV. II, 3, 53. 
In the old dramatists the wafer- woman 
bore a somewhat unenviable character 
as a go-between, and perhaps a not very 
trustworthy one. See Nares, s.v. wafer- 
wo77ian. 
waft. To beckon. Err. II, 2, 111 ; Merch. 

V, 1, 11 ; Hml. I, 4, 78. 
waftage. Passage by water. Err. IV, 

I, 95 ; Troil. Ill, 2, 11. 

wafture. The act of beckoning. Cses. 

II, 1, 246. 

wage. 1. To bet. Hml. V, 2, 154 ; Lr. 
I, 1, 158. 

2. To pay wages to. Cor. V, 6, 40. 

3. To counterpoise ; to be in opposition 
to. Ant. V, 1, 31 ; Per. IV, 2, 34. 

4. To contend against ; to fight. Lr. II, 
4, 213. 

In the passage. To wake, and wage a 
danger pifofitless (0th. I, 3, 30), the 
word wage is defined by Steevens as to 
fight, to combat. It has generally been 
explained, however, as to hazard ; to 
attempt. In other passages, as in IHI V. 
IV, 4, 20; To wage an instant trial 
with the king, and John I, 1, 266, The 
aweless lion could not wage the fight, 
it more probably means to carry on the 



fight. In both cases the ones concerned 
did hazard the fight, but could not 
ivage it. 

waggon. This word as used by Sh. is 
equivalent to chariot or other vehicle 
adapted to rapid motion. In England 
the meaning has entirely changed, and 
the word is now used to designate heavy, 
slow-moving conveyances adapted to 
carry freight. It furnishes another 
instance of our retention of the same 
meaning that the word had when first 
brought over to this country. Wint. 
IV, 4, 118 ; Tit. V, 2, 51 ; Rom. I, 4, 59. 
For a full discussion of this point see 
White's 1st ed., Vol. V, p. 402. 

wagtail. A familiar bird in Great Britain, 
of which the most noticeable feature is 
the continual wagging motion of its 
tail. Generally known as the " water 
wagtail," Motacilla lugubris, from its 
habit of frequenting streams. Kent 
applies the name as a term of opprobrium 
to the ducking and wagging Oswald. 
Lr. II, 2, 73. cf. silly-ducking in line 
109 of same scene. 

wailful. Mournful; doleful. Gent. Ill, 
2,69. 

wain. A wagon. C/iarZes'tt;am= Charles' 
wagon. See Charles'' wain. IHIV. II, 
1, 2. Wain-rojpes = cart-ropes. Tw. 
111,2,64. 



WAI 



865 



WAN 



waist. " That part of a ship which is 
contained between the quarter-deck and 
forecastle, being usually a hollow space, 
with an ascent of several steps to either 
of those places." Wright. Tp. I, 2, 197. 
waiting=woraen. The suggestion, in Lr. 
IV, 1, 62, that the fiend Flibbertigibbet, 
he of "mopping and mowing," pos- 
sesses chambermaids and waiting- 
women was thought by Theobald to 
be an allusion to the three chamber- 
maids in the family of Mr. Edward 
Peckham mentioned in Harsnet's "De- 
claration," from which Malone quotes 
to the effect that if she "hold her armes 
and handes stiff e, make antike faces, 
grinne, mow and mop like an ape — 
then no doubt — the young girle is owle- 
blasted and possessed. ' ' Moberly thinks 
it refers to chambermaids who perform 
antics before their mistresses' looking- 
glasses. 
wake, n. A nightly festival, kept origin- 
ally on the day of dedication of a parish 
church ; vigilia. LLL. V, 2, 318 ; Wint. 
IV, 3, 109; Lr. Ill, 6, 77. 

Through the large attendance from 
neighbouring parishes at wakes, devo- 
tion and reverence grad ually diminished, 
until they ultimately became mere fairs 
or markets, characterized by merry- 
making and often disgraced by indulg- 
ence and riot. The wake or revel of 
country parishes was originally the day 
of the week on which the church had 
been dedicated ; afterward, the day of 
the year. Brande. 
wake, V. To keep late revel. Hml. I, 4, 8. 
Wales, Henry, Prince of, dr.p. After- 
wards Henry V. IHIV, and 2HIV. 
Wales, Edward, Prince of, dr.p. Son to 

Edward IV. RIII. 
wall=eyed. Having a large portion of the 
white of the eye visible, which gives a 
fierce look to the eye\ glaring-eyed. 
John IV, 3, 49 ; Tit. V, 1, 44. Certainly 
not blear-eyed in any known dialect. 
Yet so stated in a recent " G-lossary." 
wall=newt. A spec ies of lizard. Lr. Ill, 
4, 133. 
It is not a newt, as the true newt lives 



in water and very damp places, and 
not on walls. Mrs. Browning, in her 
" Aurora Leigh," thus alludes to these 
"wall-newts": 

Lizards, the green lightnings of the 

walls, * * * 
With such prodigious eyes in such 

small heads. 

See lizard and newt. 

walls. The passage in Lr. V, 3, 76, the 
walls are thine, has been a subject 
for discussion. Some think that "the 
walls " allude to Regan's castle referred 
to in line 245 of this scene. Warburton 
explains it as "a metaphorical phrase 
taken from the camp and signifying, 
to surrender at discretion. Johnson 
and Steevens accept this, and Steevens 
refers to Cym. II, 1, 67, for a parallelism. 
Rolfe thinks this is the correct inter- 
pretation. 

wanned. Turned pale and wan. Hral. 
II, 2, 580. 

wannion. Used only in the phrase with 
a wannion = with a vengeance. Per. 
II, 1, 17. 

want. The passage in Mcb. Ill, 6, 8, Who 
cannot want the thought, has given 
rise to much discussion. Malone makes 
this remark: " The sense requires : Who 
can want the thought. Yet, I believe, 
the text is not corrupt. Shakespeare is 
sometimes incorrect in these minutiae." 
R. G. White, after giving some pretty 
positive views in his "Shakespeare's 
Scholar," says in his 1st ed. : "A recol- 
lection of the mistakes that I have made 
myself and known others to make have 
led me unwillingly to the belief that 
Malone may be right"; and in his 
"Riverside" ed. he has this note: 
" Shakespeare meant ' Who can want,' 
etc. ; an example of heterophemy. " 
[Heterophemy means saying one thing 
when another thing is meant.] 

The word want has two very distinct 
meanings in Sh., with several varying 
shades. In some passages, as in Rill. 
HI, 1, 6, I want more uncles here to 
welcome me, it signifies desire, need of. 
In others, as in Tim. Ill, 2, 43, it signi- 



WAN 



366 



WAR 



fies to be without, and in Lr. I, 1, 383, 
it seems to be used in both senses. That 
it retains both senses even now is a 
matter of common knowledge, but that 
in old English or Scotch the second 
meaning was more marked than it is 
to-day is also well known. As an in- 
stance of this we may cite Burns's 
famous Selkirk " Grace " : 

Some hae meat, and canna eat, 
And some wad eat that want it ; 

But we hae meat, and we can eat, 
And sae the Lord be thankit. 

Here the meaning of the second line is : 
Some would eat who have no meat. 

In trying to get at the meaning of 
the passage in Mcb. we must bear in 
mind that the whole speech is ironical ; 
Lennox is saying exactly the opposite 
of what he means. 
wanton. In addition to the usual mean- 
ings, sometimes signifies effeminate ; 
feeble ; brought up in luxury. John 
V, 1, 70; RII. V, 3, 10; Hml. V, 2, 210. 
want- wit. An idiot. Merch. I, 1, 6. 
wappened. Over-worn; stale. Tim. IV, 
3, 38. Other readings, such as ivcmied, 
vapid, woepined, etc., have been sug- 
gested, but good authority has been 
found for the word as it stands, though 
it would be impossible to discuss its 
origin in these pages. 
ward. 1. A guard made in fencing. Tp. 
I, 2, 471. 
2. Prison. 2HVI. V, 1, 112. 
warden. A large, hard pear, chiefly used 
for roasting or baking. Warden-X)ies 
= pies made of w^arden pears. Wint. 
IV, 3, 48. " They are now generally 
baked or stewed without crust; and 
coloured with cochineal, not saffron, 
as in old times. " Naves. 
warder. " A kind of truncheon or staff 
of command carried by a king or by 
any commander-in-chief, the throwing 
down of which seems to have been a 
solemn act of prohibition, to stay pro- 
ceedings, I do not know that it was 
called ivarde?' except on such occasions. ' ' 
Nares. RII. I, 3, 118 ; 2HIV. IV, 1, 
125. 



Ware. A town in Hertfordshire, England, 
about 21 miles north of London. The 
allusion in Tw. Ill, 2, 51, to the bed of 
Ware in England is to a curious piece 
of furniture, celebrated by Sh. and 
Jonson. It is still preserved, and is 
made of oak, richly carved, measuring 
ten feet, nine inches in length ; ten feet, 
nine inches in width, and seven feet, 
six inches in heighth. Nares says that 
it was reported to be "capable of hold- 
ing twenty or twenty-four persons; but 
in order to accommodate that number, 
it is evident that they must lie at top 
and bottom with their feet meeting in 
the middle. " He gives the size as twelve 
feet square, but the actual measure- 
ments are as given above. Nares 
further tells us that "in Chauncy's 
' Hertfordshire ' there is an account of 
its receiving at once twelve men and 
their wives, who lay at top and bottom, 
in this mode of arrangement : first, two 
men, then two women, and so on alter- 
nately, so that no man was near to any 
woman but his wife. For the ridiculous 
conclusion of the story, I refer to that 
book." 

In regard to its history Dyce says: 
" At what inn in Ware it was kept 
during Shakespeare's days is uncertain : 
but, after being for many years at the 
Saracen's Head, it was sold there by 
auction in September, 1864, and knocked 
down at a hundred guineas (the news- 
papers erroneously adding that Mr. 
Charles Dickens was the purchaser)." 
'ware pencils. See B. 
warn. To summon. John II, 1, 201 ; 
Rom. V, 3, 207 ; Cses. V, 1, 5. 

The phrase God warn us, in As. IV, 
1, 1, has been thought by some to be a 
corruption of God ward us, i.e., guard 
us. Others explain it as "summon us," 
as in RIII. I, 3, 39. It undoubtedly 
means " God protect us," but the idiom 
is unusual. 
warning. A summons. Mids. V, 1, 211 ; 

Hml. I, 1, 152. 
warp. In the line, Though thou the 
waters warp (As. II, 7, 187), the mean- 



WAE 



367 



WAT 



ing of warp is not positively clear, but 
the interpretation of Wright is, no 
doubt, the correct one. He says : " We 
may therefore understand by the warp- 
ing of the waters either the change pro- 
duced in them by the action of the 
fi'ost or the bending and ruffling of 
their surface caused by the wintry 
wind." Probably the latter. Anyone 
who has stood by a pond on a wintry 
day and seen a sharp, cold wind ruffle its 
surface, must recall the intensely chill- 
ing and dreary character of the scene, 
corresponding exactly to the tenor of 
the song — Blow, blow, thou wintry 
wind. 

warrant. The usual explanation of the 
phrase Lord warrant us (As. Ill, 3, 5), 
is : Lord protect us ! 

warrener. A gamekeeper. Wiv. 1, 4, 28. 

Wart, dr.p. One of Falstaff's recruits. 
2HIV. 

Warwick, Earl of, dr.p. Known as " The 
King-maker." IHVI. ; 2HVI. ; 3HVI. 

wary. The expression, hold their honours 
in a wary distance (0th. 11,3,58), is 
explained by Rolfe as being sensitive 
with regard to their honour; quick to 
take offence at a supposed insult. 

wash, n. The sea. Hml. Ill, 2, 146. 

German corns, have expended a great 
deal of useless conjecture in regard to 
this word, but the meaning is so obvious 
that it cannot give rise to a doubt ex- 
■ cept under a cloud of useless learning. 
"The original sense was probably 'to 
wet, ' hence, to flood with water. ' ' Skeat. 
The verb, by a common transition, was 
afterwards used also as a noun, and is 
in common use in household parlance. 
It has also been specifically applied to 
an arm of the North Sea, on the coast 
of England, between Norfolk and Lin- 
colnshire, which has been called " The 
Wash." 

wash'd. Weeping. Lr. I, 1, 271. The 
word wash is often applied to weeping, 
as in Ado. I, 1, 27 ; Mids. II, 2, 93 ; 
Rom. II, 3, 70, and elsewhere. 

Washford. The old name of Wexford, 
in Ireland. XHVI. IV, 7, 63. 



waspish^headed. Irritable; petulant. Tp. 
IV, 1, 99. 

wassail. A drinking bout; a carousing. 
LLL. V, 2, 318; Mcb. I, 7, 64; Hml. I, 
4, 9. In Ant. I, 4, 56, some eds. read 
vassails, others vassals. 

wassail candle. ' ' A large candle lighted 
up at a feast. There is a poor quibble 
upon the word wax, which signifies 
increase as well as the matter of the 
honey-comb." Johnson. SHI V. 1, 2, 179. 

wat. A name for the hare used colloqui- 
ally amongst sportsmen. Ven. 697. 

watch. The watch is referred to several 
times in Sh., as in Tp. II, 1, 12; LLL. 
Ill, 1, 194; Tw. II, 5, 66. "The inven- 
tion of striking watches is ascribed to 
Peter Hele, of Nuremberg, about the 
year 1510." Wright. 

The passage in Tw. II, 5, 66, which in 
the PI. reads winde up my watch, or 
play with iny some rich lewell, has a 
dash after play with tny in the g.a. 
text. This was inserted by Collier, who 
says: "It is more natural to suppose 
that Malvolio, having mentioned his 
watch, then rather a rarity, wishes to 
enumerate some other valuable in his 
possession, and pauses after ' or play 
with my,' following it up with the 
words ' some rich jewel,' not being able 
on the sudden to name any one in par- 
ticular," Nicholson makes the follow- 
ing very pertinent suggestion : " There 
is here a true touch of nature and a 
most humourous one. While Sir Toby 
is being fetched to the presence, the 
Lord Malvolio would frowningly wind 
up his watch or play with — here, from 
force of habit, he fingers [his badge of 
office] and is about to add play with, my 
chain, but suddenly remembering that 
he would be no longer a steward, or 
other gold-chained attendant, he stops 
short, and then confusedly alters Ms 
phrase to — ' some rich jewel.' " Apud 
Furness. 

watch=case. Generally explained as a 
sentry-box. 2HIV. Ill, 1, 17. "This 
alludes to the watchman set in garrison 
towns on some eminence attending upon 



WAT 



368 



WEA 



an alarum bell, which was to ring out 
in case of fire or any approaching 
danger." Hanmer. On the other hand, 
Holt White, followed by C. and M. 
Clarke and some others explain the 
term as referring to an alarm watch or 
clock. But the fact that 'larum bell is 
mentioned as well as watch-case would 
seem to be in favor of Hanmer's gloss. 
water. 1. A well-known liquid. The 
expression, But what should go by 
water (0th. IV, 2, lOi) = by weeping. 

The clown's saying, / am for all 
waters (Tw. IV, 2, 68), is generally 
supposed to mean, " I can turn my hand 
to anything ; like a fish, I can swim in 
all waters." 

To raise waters = to excite tears, 
Merch. II, 3, 52. 

2. The lustre of a diamond. Tim. I, 1, 
18 ; Per. Ill, 2, 102. 
water, u To drink. IHIV. II, 4, 17. cf. 
the expression, his steeds to water. 
Gym. II, 3, 28. 
water=coIours. Literally, colors mixed 
with water Instead of oil ; hence, thin 
and transparent. In IHIV. V, 1, 80, it 
seems to mean flimsy excuses. Others 
define the term as " weak fellows. " 
water=gall. A secondary rainbow. Lucr, 

1588. 
waterish. Abounding in water ; weak ; 
thin ; insipid. Lr. 1, 1, 261. Burgundy 
abounded in streams, and Burgundiaus 
boasted that it was the best-watered 
district in France. The expression is 
here used contemptuously, as in 0th. 
Ill, 3, 15. 
water=rugs. Rough water dogs. Mcb. 

Ill, 1, 94. 
water = work. A painting executed in 
water-colors or in distemper. 2HIV. 
II, 1, 158. 
watery. Eagerly desirous (as when the 

mouth waters). Troil. Ill, 2, 20. 
wave. To fluctuate. Cor. II, 2, 19. 
wax. The phrase, a man of wax (Rom. 
I, 3, 76), is generally explained as well- 
made ; as if he had been modeled in 
wax. In support of this interpretation 
Steeveus quotes Horace; "When you, ' 



Lydia, praise the waxen arms of Tele- 
phus;" and White from "Euphues 
and his England": "So exquisite, 
that for shape he must be framed in 
wax. ' ' 

The line in John V, 4, 24, even as a 
form of wax Resolveth from, his figure 
''gainst the fire ? is, of course, an allu- 
sion to the images made by witches, 
Holinshed observes that it was alleged 
against Dame Eleanor Cobham and her 
confederates " that they had devised 
an image of wax representing the king, 
which, by their sorcerie, by little and 
little consumed, intending thereby, in 
conclusion, to waste and destroy the 
king's person." Steevens. 
waxen, adj. Made of wax ; impressible ; 
soft. Lucr. 178 ; RII. I, 3, 75. 

In Mids. Ill, 1, 172, Sh. adopts the 
popular error that the pollen with which 
the bees load their thighs is wax. Bees- 
wax is not a plant product, and is not 
found by the bees, but is a fatty pro- 
duct secreted by the bees themselves 
and formed out of honey. 
waxen, v. Mids. II, 1, 56. The only in- 
stance of waxen, as a verb, in Sh. The 
explanation given by Johnson is : " That 
is, increases, as the moon waxes.'''' It 
was suggested by Dr. Parmer that 
ivaxen is probably corrupted from 
yoxen or yexen, to hiccup, and taken 
in connection with neeze this might 
seem to be the true meaning. But most ' 
authorities. Dr. Furness included, agree 
with Johnson, and if the language were 
intentionally "an affectation of ancient 
phraseology," as Steevens alleges, it 
would probably have remained yaxen, 
or yexen, or yoxen. 
wealsmen. Statesmen. Cor. II, 1, 60. 
wealth. Welfare ; prosperity. Merch. V, 

I, 249; Hml. IV, 4, 27. 

wear. Fashion. Meas. Ill, 2, 78 ; As. II, 
7, 34: All's. I, 1, 219; Wint. IV, 4, 327. 
weather. Storm. John IV, 2, 109 ; Merch. 

II, 9, 29. 

To keep the weather means to have 
the advantage ; to keep on the wind- 
ward side. Troil. V, 3, 26. 



WEA 



WEN 



weather - fend. To defend from the 
weather. Tp. V, 1, 10. 

weaver. It seems that weavers were 
noted for their singing; thus, in IHIV. 
II, 4, 147, Falstaff says: I would I were 
a weaver ; I could sing psalms or any- 
thing. Many of the weavers in England 
in Sh. time were Calvinistic refugees 
from the Netherlands and consequently 
were very much given to singing psalms. 
Their libertine neighbors said that 
psahn-singing was all their religion. 
For the allusion in Tw, II, 3, 61, see 
soul. 

web and the pin. An old name for catar- 
act in the eye. Lr. Ill, 4, 123; Wint. 
I, 2, 291. 

wee. Small ; little. Wiv. I, 4, 22. Still 
in common use in Scotland. 

weed. A gai-ment. Mids. II, 1, 256; Tw. 
V, 1, 262 ; Hml. IV, 7, 81. In Meas. I, 
3, 20, the word occurs with a peculiar 
meaning in the passage the needful bits 
and curbs to headstrong weeds. Collier 
points out that the term weed is still 
commonly applied to an ill-conditioned 
horse. The readings steeds and wills 
have been suggested as emendations. 

ween. To imagine ; to hope. IHVI. II, 
5, 88 ; HVIII. V, 1, 186. cf. overween. 

week. The phrase, in by the week, is a 
slang expression for being a close pri- 
soner. LLL. V, 2, 61. 

weep. See millstones. 

weeping=ripe. Ready to weep. 3HVI. 
I, 4, 172. See ripe. 

weet. To know. Ant. I, 1, 39. 

weird. Fate or destiny. The word is 
used by Sh. as an adjective, but properly 
it is a noun. It is used by Sh. only as 
applied to the witches in Mcb. In this 
connection it occurs six times, the pro- 
nunciation varying according to the 
requirements of the metre. Sh. took 
the word from Holinshed, who, after 
describing " three women in strange 
and wild apparell, resembling creatures 
of the elder world," says : "Afterwards 
the common opinion was, that these 
women were either the weird sisters, 
that is (as ye would say), the goddesses 



of destinie, or else some nymphs or 
fairies." Mcb. I, 3, 32, and elsewhere. 

welkin, n. The sky. Ven. 921 ; Tp. I, 2, 
4. In LLL. Ill, 1, 68, By thy favor 
sweet welkin, Armado, with the false 
dignity of a Spaniard, makes an apology 
for sighing in its face. Johnson. 

The passage in Tw. II, 3, 59, shall ive 
make the welkin dance? is explained 
by Johnson as "drink till \\ie sky seems 
to turn round." 

In Tw. Ill, 1, 65, Feste uses welkin as 
synonymous with "element," which is 
sometimes used for sky, for the purpose 
of avoiding the more familiar word. In 
his Satiro-mastix, Dekker had ridiculed 
this word, element, putting it in the 
mouth of Horace^ who was a caricature 
of Ben Jonson. 

welkin, adj. Sky-blue ; according to some, 
heavenly. Wint. I, 2, 136. 

well=a-day. Alas ! Wiv. Ill, 3, 106 ; 
Tw. IV, 2, 116. 

well=a-near. Alas ! Per. Ill, Prol. 51. 

well-graced. Graceful ; popular. RII. 
V 2 24 

well=liking. In good condition. LLL. V, 
2, 268. 

well=said. Well done. As. II, 6, 14; 
IHIV. V, 4, 75 ; 2HIV. V, 3, 10. 

In some passages, however, it un- 
doubtedly has the meaning which we 
now give to " well-said." 

well=seen. Skilful. Shr. I, 2, 136. 

welUwished. Popular. Meas. II, 4, 28. 

Welsh=hook. An old military weapon of 
the bill kind, but having, in addition to 
a cutting blade, a hook at the back. 
IHIV. II, 4, 372. 

went. The phrase. Wherein went he ? 
(in As. Ill, 2, 234), means, " How was 
he dressed ?" 

wench. This word occurs many times in 
Sh., but never with a depreciatory 
meaning, except where such meaning 
is conveyed by some accompanying 
word. Prospero t vvice calls his daughter 
wench in Tp. I, 2, 139 and 412 ; the nurse 
calls Juliet wench in Rom. II, 5, 45, and 
Othello addresses Desdemona as wench, 
not in his insane jealousy, but lovingly, 



WES 



370 



WHE 



after he has fully realized how innocent 
she was and how her look " would hurl 
his soul from heaven " (OLh. V, 2, 272) ; 
and in William of Palerne (Early 
English Text Society's ed. I, 1901) the 
writer speaks of "William and his 
worthie wenche," the wench being a 
princess. Furness thinks that "there 
was, nevertheless, a faint sub-audition 
of inferiority of some kind," but this 
seems to have been always indicated by 
the context. The original word meant 
a child, and hence indicated physical 
weakness, but physical ideas were very 
apt to run into the mental and moral, 
as we see in the case of silly, q.v. Thus, 
in Chaucer's Merchant's Tale (I, 958), 
we read : " I am a gentil womnian, and 
no wenche." That the idea of a depre- 
ciatory sense attaching to the word was 
quite common actually led one com. to 
suggest an emendation of Othello's apos- 
trophe to Desdemona, the word wench 
being changed to wretch ! 

wesand. See wezand. 

Westminster, Abbott of, dr. p. RII. 

Westmoreland, Earl of, dr. p. IHIV. ; 
2HIV. ; HV. 

Westmoreland, Earl of, dr. p. 3HVI. 

Westward Ho I The cry of the watermen 
on the river Thames. Tw. Ill, 1, 146. 

-wezand. The wind-pipe. Tp. Ill, 2, 99. 

what is he for a fool ? An idiomatic form 
of "what manner of fool is he ?" Ado. 
I, 3, 49. 

wheat, white. Wheat that is ripe — ' ' white 
unto the harvest." Lr. Ill, 4, 128. 

wheaten garland. An emblem of fertility; 
also of peace and plenty. Kins. I, 1, 
in stage direction, and also line 64, 

wheel, n. The burden or refrain of a 
song, or else a spinning-wheel at which 
it was sung. Hml. IV, 5, 171. 

The wheel is come full circle (Lr. V, 
3, 174), that is, the wheel of fortune, cf. 
Caes. V, 3, 2.5, and the clown's "whirli- 
gig," Tw. V, 1, 385. Also Lr. II, 2, 
180. See also Enid's song in "The 
Idyls of the King": "Turn, fortune, 
turn thy wheel." 
The passage in Err. Ill, 2, 151, and 



made me turn i' the wheel, is an allu- 
sion to the old practice of training dogs 
to turn a wheel so as to cause the spit, 
which carried the meat, to revolve 
before the fire. In those days the 
method generally used for roasting meat 
and game was to hang them on a spit 
before the fire and cook them by means 
of the radiated heat. Various devices 
were employed for turning the spit so 
as to have the meat roast evenly, and 
as the amount of power required was 
very small, young children and dogs 
were sometimes employed. So common 
was this practice in Great Britain, until 
quite recent times, that the mention of 
it in this passage does not call forth a 
single word of comment or explanation 
in the 3rd Var. of 1821. In ' ' The Henry 
Irving Shakespeare," we find this note 
on line 151 : " Referring to the turnspit 
dogs, a race lately come into fashion 
again, but in-a less useful capacity than 
that which they fulfilled in Sh. time." 
Halliwell fills three folio pages with a 
description of the various inventions 
made for doing this work. Weights, 
acting as they do in clocks, were a 
favorite source of power ; springs were 
also used, and in many cases the current 
of hot air going up the chimney was 
made to turn the spit. But the dog 
seems always to have been a favorite 
for this purpose, and a breed specially 
adapted to the work, and known as the 
turnspit^ was generally employed. Top- 
sell, in his " History of Four- Footed 
Beasts" (1607), thus describes it: "There 
is comprehended under the cur res of 
the coursest kinde, a certain dogge in 
kitchen service excellent : for when any 
meat is to be roasted, they go into a 
wheel, which they turning about with 
the weight of their bodies, so diligently 
looke to their businesse, that no drudge 
nor scullion can do the feate more 
cunningly." 
wheel, V. 1. To roam. Troil. V, 7, 2 ; 
0th. I, 1, 137. 
2. To make a circuit ; to go round. Cor. 
I, 6, 19. 



WHE 



371 



WHI 



wheeling. As this word occurs in 0th. I, 
1, 137, it evidently means circling about, 
and corresponds to extravagant, which 
here means wandering. Collier's MS. 
suggested wheedling, and Staunton 
whirling, but wheeling is no doubt the 
true word. 
Wheeson week. The hostess's blunder 

for Whitsun week. 3HIV. II, 1, 96. 
whelk. A swelling; a pustule; a ridge. 

HV. Ill, 6, 108. 
whelked. Having wavy ridges like a 

ram's horn. Lr. IV, 6, 71. 
whenas, | When. Sonn. XLIX, 3 ; Err. 
when as. ) IV, 4, 140; 3HVI. I, 2, 75. 

Printed as one word in some eds. 
where, n. A place. Lr. I, 1, 264. On 
this passage Johnson remarks: '■^ Here 
and where have the power of nouns. 
where, adv. Whereas. LLL. II, 1, 103; 

Merch. IV, 1, 23 ; IHVI. V, 5, 47. 
whey=face. A face white or pale from 
fear or any other cause. Mcb. V, 3, 17 ; 
Wiv. I, 4, 22. 
whiffler. One who goes before in a pro- 
cession and clears the way. HV. V, 
Chor. 12. 

The word "is by no means, as Han- 
mer had conceived, a corruption fi-om 
the French huiss ier. He was apparently 
misled by the resemblance which the 
office of a whiffler bore in modern times 
to that of an usher. The terra is un- 
doubtedly borrowed from ivhiffle, an- 
other name for a fife or small flute ; for 
whifflers were originally those who pre- 
ceded armies or processions as fif ers or 
pipers. * * * In process of time the 
term, whiffler, which had always been 
used in the sense of a fifer, came to | 
signify any person who went before in 
a procession. Minsheu, in his "Dic- 
tionary" (1617), defines him to be 'a 
club or staff- bearer.' Sometimes the 
whifflers carried white staves. ' ' Douce. 
while. Until. RII. I, 3, 122 ; Mcb. Ill, 

1, 44. 
while=ere. Erewhile ; not long ago. Tp. 

Ill, 2, 127. 
whiles. Until. Tw. IV, 3, 29. cf. while. 
whip. In Cor. I, 8, 12, the passage: 



Hector, That was the whip of yoxir 
bragged j^rogeny, is a little awkward. 
It was the Trojans, not the Greeks, 
from whom the Romans claimed to be 
descended ; the of, therefore, must mean 
belonging to ; i.e.. Hector was the whip 
belonging to the Trojans, who whipped 
his enemies. 
whipping=cheer. A flogging; chastise- 
ment. 2HIV. V, 4, 5. 
whipster. A whipper-snapper ; a nimble, 
restless little fellow ; one who suddenly 
seizes or whips up anything. 0th. V, 
2, 244. 
whipstock. The handle of a whip. Tw. 
II, 3, 28 ; Per. II, 2, 51 ; Kins. I, 2, 86. 

One of the words in common use in 
England in the 16th century and still 
retained in this country and in many 
parts of England, though it would seem 
to have fallen somewhat into disuse, 
the "Globe" and other glossaries find- 
ing it necessary to explain it. 

The clown's expression in Tw. II, 3, 
28, Malvolio^s nose is no whipstock, is 
not easily understood. It is easy en ough 
to imagine plausible meanings for it, 
but that is not the problem. Hutson 
explains it as follows: "This reply of 
the Clown is apparently a whimsical 
series of inconsecutive ideas ; but, ex- 
amined closely, it will be found not to 
lack continuity; — ' I pocketed thy trifling 
gratuity (for he seems to me to mean a 
hidden sneer by his diminutive), because 
Malvolio would soon nose me out if I 
abstracted wine from the steward's 
stores ; my lady (not Olivia, but the 
girl Sir Andrew sent him the sixpence 
for) has too white a hand to condescend 
to common tipple, and the tavern called 
the Myrmidons, where I would regale 
her, is no place for cheap drink. " This 
is certainly interesting, even if a little 
far-fetched and imaginative, but it does 
not explain the connection between 
Malvolio's nose and a whipstock. 

Perhaps it may have been because 
this feature of Malvolio's countenance 
was somewhat large and prominent, a 
whipstock being usually quite slender. 



WHI 



372 



WHI 



whir. To hurry awaj^ Per. IV, 1, 21. 

Some eds. hurrying. 

whist. The lines in Ariel's song (Tp. I, 
2, 378) : 

Curtsied when you have, and kiss'd 
The wild waves whist, 
are thus explained by Wright : " If we 
take ' kiss'd ' to refer to the fairies, who, 
before beginning their dance, courtsy 
to and kiss their partners, the words 
' The wild waves whist ' must be read 
parenthetically, ' the wild waves being 
silent,' and as it is Ariel's music that 
stills the waves, and not the fairies, this 
seems to be the better reading. " Prof. 
Allen, as quoted by Furness, regards the 
waves as spectators who are hushed into 

• silent attention by the sign al of t h e fairies 
taking hands, courtesying and kissing. 
But this does not seem quite as fully in 
accordance with the general action of 
the play as Wright's interpretation. 

Hudson's explanation is that the fairies 
kissed the wild waves into silence, "a 
delicate touch of poetry that is quite 
lost as the passage is usually printed, 
the line, The wild waves ivhist, being 
made parenthetical, and that, too, with- 
out any authority from the original." 
This has been adopted by Rolfe. 

whistle. Goneril's remark : / have been 
worth the whistle, is explained by 
Moberly as meaning: "There was a 
time when you would not have waited 
so long without coming to meet me." 
There is an old proverb : " It is a poor 
dog that is not worth the whistling," 
and to this Goneril refers. Lr. IV, 
2,29. 

The phrase, Fid whistle her off 
and let her down the wind, is taken 
from falconry, and means to dismiss a 
hawk from the fist. 0th. Ill, 2, 29. 
"The falconers always let the hawk fly 
against the wind; if she flies with the 
wind behind her, she seldom returns. 
If, therefore, a hawk was, for any 
reason, to be dismissed, she was let 
down the wind, and from that time 
shifted for herself and preyed at for- 
tune. Johnson. 



white. The center of an archery butt. 
Shr. V, 2, 186. There is here a pun 
on the name Bianca, which signifies 
tvhite. 

The term white wench, as it occurs in 
Rom. II, 4, 14, is supposed to be a term 
of endearment, like " white boy," which 
is used in The Knight of the Burning 
Pestle by Mrs. Merrythought to her 
darling son, Michael: "What says my 
white boy ? " and in the " Returne from 
Parnassus, II, 6, the Page says : " When 
he returns, I'll tell twenty admirable 
lies of his hawk ; and then I shall be his 
little rogue and his white villain for a 
whole week after." See Nares, s. v. 
white hoy. 

The meaning of tvhite herring, in Lr. 
Ill, 6, 33, has not been satisfactorily 
settled. The term has been applied to 
salt or pickled herring as opposed to red 
herring, and also to fresh herring. A 
writer in the Gentleman's Magazine, 
as quoted by Furness, says that ' ' there 
is no occasion to pickle the herring," 
but it was done, nevertheless, and 
pickled herring were called white her- 
ring. In the " Glossary of Manley and 
Corringham," Lincolnshire, as pub- 
lished by the English Dialect Society, 
white herring is given as meaning fresh 
herring, so that the authorities seem to 
be equally divided. 
white=fac'd shore. England is supposed 
to be called Albion from the white 
rocks facing France. Johnson. John 
II, 1, 23. 
white=livered. Cowardly; having no blood 
in the liver. HV. Ill, 2, 34; Bill. IV, 
4, 465; and cf. Tw. Ill, 2, 66. 
whiting=time. Bleaching time. Wiv. Ill, 

3, 140. 
Whitley. Pale-faced. LLL. Ill, 1, 198. 
A doubtful word; some defined it as 
faded. It is whitley in the Fl. ; whitely 
in the F3. and F4. and the Cambridge 
ed. ; wightly in the 1st Cambridge ed. 
and in the Globe. See wightly. 
Whitmore, Walter, dr. p. 2HVI. 
whitster. A bleacher ; literally, one who 
makes things white. Wiv. Ill, 3, 14. 



WHI 



373 



WIL 



whittle. A large knife, especially one 
carried in the belt. Still a good Ameri- 
can word, though with our cousins it 
seems to have dropped out of common 
use. Tim. V, 1, 183. The Scotch still 
retain it. See Burns's " Death and Dr. 
Hornbook," Tenth Stanza. 

whole. Solid ; sound. Mids. Ill, 2, 53 ; 
Mcb. Ill, 4, 23. 

whoo = bub. Outcry; clamor; hubbub. 
Wint. IV. 4, 629. 

whoop. An interjection, or, rather, an 
exclamation. Wint. IV, 4, 199 ; Lr. I, 
4, 245. Sometimes "hoop," as in As. 
Ill, 2, 203, out of all hoojying = beyond 
all exclamation of wonder. 

Writing of the servant's speech in 
Wint. IV, 4, Dr. Purness says: "A 
Bibliography of this old song is given 
by Chappell on pp. 208, 774, together 
with the music. A song with this 
burden is to be found in Fiy's Ancient 
Poetry, 'but,' adds Chappell, 'it would 
not be desirable for republication.' 
Indeed, the humour in the whole of this 
speech by the Clown [Servant, not 
Clown] would be relished by an Eliza- 
bethan audience, to whom the praises 
bestowed by the Clown [?] on the 
decency of the ballads, would be at 
once recognised as one of the jokes." 

wicked. Mischievous ; baneful ; poison- 
ous. Tp. I, 2, 321. 

wide. Distracted ; astray. Ado. IV, 1, 
60 ; Lr. IV, 7, 50. 

widow, V. 1. To give a jointure to ; to 
endow with a widow's rights. Meas. V, 
1, 429. 

2, To become a widow to ; to survive a 
husband. Ant. I, 2, 27. 

widow=hood. A widow's right in the 
estate of her deceased husband. Shr. II, 
1, 125. 

wife. lago's speech in 0th. I, 1, 21, A 
fellow almost da^nn'd in a fair wife, 
has puzzled not only the corns., but 
most readers of Sh. Dr. Furness gives 
five solid pages of fine type to the ex- 
planations and emendations that have 
been offered, Johnson says: "This is 
one of the passages which must for the 



I3i'esent be I'esigned to corruption and 
obscurity. I have nothing that I can, 
with any approach to confidence, pro- 
pose. " Purness can only say, "I merely 
re-echo Dr. Johnson's words. " 

Various emendations have been pro- 
posed, but none that is in any way 
satisfactory. 

wight. A person. Troil. IV, 3, 12 ; Wiv. 
I, 3, 23 ; Obh. II, 1, 159. 

wightly. Nimble. LLL. Ill, 1, 198. 
Whitly, q.v., in the PI. As Rosaline 
was dark, it may very well be that the 
reading of the Polios is a printer's error. 

wild. Weald. IHIV. II, 1, 60. 

The Weald was originally partly 
covered with forests and partly desti- 
tute of them. Topley tells us that even 
as late as Elizabeth's time, swine ai'e 
said to have run wild there. 

wilderness. Wildness. Meas. Ill, 1, 143. 

wild=goose chase. Holt White describes 
this as a race of two horses ; the rider who 
could get the lead might choose what 
ground he pleased and the other was 
obliged to follow. That horse which 
could distance the other won the race. 
This barbarous sport is enumerated by 
Burton, in his " Anatomy of Melan- 
choly," as a recreation much in vogue 
in his time among gentlemen. 

This account explains the pleasantry 
kept up between Romeo and his 
gay companion: "My wits fail," says 
Mercutio. Romeo exclaims, briskly, 
" Switch and spurs, switch and spurs." 
To which Mercutio rejoins, " Nay, if 
thy wits run the wild-goose chase," etc. 
3rd Var., Vol. VI, p. 103. 

wilful=blame. IHIV. Ill, 1, 177. This 
word has given the corns, a world of 
trouble. It is not hyphenated in the 
PI . " The present compound is peculiar, 
as the second part is not an adjective." 
Rolfe. Johnson suggested " wilful- 
blunt," "wilful-bent;" Keightley sug- 
gests " wilful-blamable. " Schm. defines 
it as "blameable on purpose, on prin- 
ciple ; indulging your faults, though 
conscious that they are faults." None 
of these seem to me to give the meaning 



WIL 



374 



WIN 



of the passage. Careful reading of the 
context seems to show that the meaning 
• is : " You are too wilful or obstinate in 
blaming or finding fault with him." 

William, dr. p. A rustic. As. 

William Longsword, dr. p. Earl of Salis- 
bury. John. 

William Mareschal, dr. p. Earl of Pem- 
broke. John. 

William Page, dr. p. Son to Mrs. Page. 
Wiv. 

Williams, dr. p. A soldier in the army of 
Henry V. HV. 

Willoughby, Lord, dr.jj. RII. 

wimpled. Hooded ; veiled ; blindfolded. 
LLL. Ill, 1, 181. 

win me and wear me. An old proverb 
found in Ray's collection and in other 
works of the time. Ado. V, 1, 82. 

Winchester, Bishop of, dr.p. Stephen 
Gardiner. HVIII. 

The public stews were under the con- 
trol of the Bishop of Winchester, and 
a strumpet was called a "Winchester 
goose." Winchester goose was also a 
cant term for certain venereal sores. 

wind. 1. To scent ; to nose. Tit. IV, 1, 97. 
2. To blow as on a bugle or horn. Ado. 
I, 1, 243. 

Wind me into him (Lr. I, 2, 106) 
means make cautious, indirect advances 
and find out his intentions. 
Let her down the wind. See whistle. 

windlace, ) A circuit; an indirect method; 

windlass. \ a shift. Hml. II, 1, 65. 

window. In HVIII. V, 2, a stage direc- 
tion says: Enter at a window above, 
upon which Steevens has the following 
note: "The suspicious vigilance of our 
ancestors contrived windows which over- 
looked the insides of chapels, halls, 
kitchens, passages, etc. Some of these 
convenient peep-holes may still be found 
in colleges and such ancient houses as 
have not suffered from the reformations 
of modern architecture. Among An- 
drew Borders instructions of building a 
house (see his "Dietarie of Health ") is 
the following : "Many of the chambers 
to have a view into the chapel." He 
then gives several instances of the use 



of these devices, and concludes that 
without a knowledge of these facts, the 
stage arrangements of Shakespeare's 
time would in many cases be unintelli- 
gible. 

window=bars. A sort of embroidery in 
the form of lattice-work, worn by women 
across the bosom. Tina. IV, 3, 116. 

Staunton explains it as " the cross-bars 
or lattice- work, worn as we see it in the 
Swiss women's dress, across the breasts. 
In modern times these bars ha\e al- 
ways a bodice of satin, muslin or other 
material beneath them ; at one period 
they crossed the nude bosom. 

windowed. 1. Pull of holes. Lr. 111,4, 31. 
2. Placed in a window. Ant. IV, 14, 72. 

wind=galls. Swellings consisting of small 
bags or sacs on the legs of horses and 
supposed erroneously to contain wind. 
Shr. Ill, 2, 54. 

windring. Said to be a misprint in Tp. 
IV, 1, 128, for either winding or wan- 
dring. Schra. calls it an " unintelligible 
lection." For myself, I do not regard 
it as either a misprint or unintelligible. 
Sh. would make a word at any time if 
he wanted one to suit, and would have 
no hesitation about adding an r for 
alliteration or if he thought it sounded 
better. 

wine. In Shr. Ill, 2, 172, we read that 
after many ceremonies done, He calls 
for wine. Upon this there is a series 
of notes in the 3rd Var. , Vol. V, p. 450. 
A quotation from Leland reads : " The 
fashion of introducing a bowl of wine 
into the church at a wedding, to be 
drank by the bride and bridegroom and 
persons present, was very anciently a 
constant ceremony ; and, • as appears 
from this passage, not abolished in our 
author's age. We find it practised at 
the magnificent marriage of Queen Mary 
and Philip, in Winchester Cathedral, 
1554 : ' The trumpets sounded, and they 
both returned to their traverses in the 
quire, and their remayned untill masse 
was done : at which tyme, wyne and 
sopes were hallowed and delyvered to 
them both. ' ' ' The wine generally used 



WIN 



OiO 



WIT 



was muscadel or muscadine, and we 
find in Ben Jonson's Magnetic Lady 
that the wine drank on this occasion is 
called the knitting cuj). Middleton, in 
No Wit Like a TFo?)iau's, calls it the 
contracting cup. ISteevens saj^s there 
was a flower called "sops in wine," the 
name of which was borrowed from this 
ceremony. We have no w an apple called 
"sops in wine," but I believe the name 
is derived from its color. 
winking. The usual definition is half- 
closed. This suits very well for the 
passage in Cym. II, 4, 89, though Col- 
lier's MS. corrected to ivinged Cupids, 
which makes fair sense. But Cupid is 
generally represented as blind ; this does 
not mean eyes ' ' half-closed ' ' ; and half- 
closed does not give good sense in Rom. 
Ill, 2, 6, that runaway'' s eyes may 
- wink. Juliet wanted to have them en- 
tirely closed. 

So, too, the passage in John II, 1, 215, 

winking gates, can hardly mean half 

shut ; rather, entirely shut. Malone 

explains this expression as ' ' gates hastily 

closed from an apprehension of danger. ' ' 

It is probable that winking has slightly 

changed its meaning since Sh. time. 

winnowed. Wise ; sifted. Hml. V, 2, 201. 

Winnoived opinions=trmsins. Sc?im. 

winter, adj. Old. 2HVI. V, 3, 2. 

winter, n.- Old age. Troil. IV, 5, 24. 

(The kiss of Nestor, the old man.) 
winter^ground. To cover over so as to 
protect from the effects of frost during 
winter. Cym. IV, 2, 229. This word 
seems to be found nowhere else than in 
this passage, and has puzzled the coms. 
Warburton, followed by Johnson, main- 
tained that to winter-ground with moss 
was an absurdity, and suggested ivmier- 
gown. Collier's MS. suggests winter- 
guard, but it may have been a technical 
term in the horticulture of the day. 
The meaning is obvious. 
winter's sisterhood. A sisterhood de- 
voted to perpetual chastity ; hence, cold, 
bai-ren. As. Ill, 4, 17. 
wipe. A brand; a mark of infamy. Lucr. 
637. 



wis. See Iwis. 

wise woman. A witch ; a fortune-teller. 

Wiv. IV, 5, 59 ; Tw. Ill, 4, 116. 
wish to. To recommend to. Shr. I, 1, 113. 
wisp of straw. The badge of a scold. 

3HVI. II, 2, 144. See straiu. 
wistly. 1. Attentively; scrutinisingly. 

Ven. 343 ; Lucr. 1355. 
2. Wishingly ; wistfully. RII. V, 4, 7. 
wit, 11, Mind ; intellect ; wisdom. Wiv. 
V, 5, 134 ; Merch. II, 1, 18 ; Caes. Ill, 
2 225. 

By the early writers, the "five wits" 
were used synonymously with the five 
senses, as in Ado. I, 1, 66, The passage 
in LLL. I, 2, 94, she had a green wit, 
is a very obvious allusion to Judges xvi, 
7 and 8, and the story of Samson and 
Delilah and how she had him bound 
with green ivithes. Withe was probably 
pronounced ivit in Sh. time. 
wit, V. To know. IHVI. II, 5, 16; Per, 
IV, 4, 31. "A preterit-present verb 
whose forms have been much confused 
and misused in modern English. Ce7it. 
Diet. 
Witches, The Three, dr.p. Mcb. 

In the Fl., after line 34 of IV, 1, of 
Mcb. the stage direction is : Enter Hecat 
and the other three Witches. As there 
is no evidence that there were more than 
three witches present, this has been 
changed to. Enter Hecate to the other 
three Witches in the g. a. text. Sh. 
has been criticised for describing Hecate 
as a witch, but in this he seems to have 
confornittd to the opinions of the times 
and the description of Holinshed. See 
weird. Lamb, in a note on Middleton's 
Witch, in his " Specimens of English 
Dramatic Poets," points out the differ- 
ence between the "weird sisters" of 
Sh. and the ordinary witch as : " Though 
some resemblance may be traced be- 
tween the Charms in Macbeth and the 
Incantations in this play, which is sup- 
posed [probably erroneously] to have 
preceded it, this coincidence will not 
detract much from the originality of 
Shakespeare. His Witches are distin- 
guished from the Witches of Middleton 



WIT 



376 



WOL 



by essential differences. These are 
creatures to whom man or woman, 
plotting some dire mischief, might re- 
sort for occasional consultation. Those 
originate deeds of blood and begin bad 
impulses to men. Froin the moment 
that their eyes first met Macbeth 's he 
is spell-bound. That meeting sways his 
destiny. He can never break the fasci- 
nation. These Witches can hurt the 
body ; those have power over the soul. 
Hecate, in Middleton, has a Son, a low 
buffoon ; the hags of Shakespeare have 
neither child of their own, nor seem to 
be descended from any parent. They 
are foul Anomalies, of whom we know 
not whence they are sprung, nor whether 
they have beginning or ending. As 
they are without human passions, so 
they seem to be without human relations. 
They come with thunder and lightning, 
and vanish to airy music. This is all 
we know of them. Except Hecate, they 
have no names ; which heightens their 
mysteriousness." Edition of Gollancz 
(1893), Vol. I, p. 271. 

And in his note on The Witch 
of Edmonton, by Rowley, he says : 
" Mother Sawyer differs from the hags 
of Middleton or Shakespeare. She is 
the plain traditional old woman Witch 
of our ancestors ; poor, deformed and 
ignorant ; the terror of villages, herself 
amenable to a justice. That should be 
a hardy sheriff, with the power of a 
county at his heels, that would lay 
hands on the Weird Sisters. They are 
of another jurisdiction." The same 
work, Vol. II, p. 17. 

The passage in IHVI. I, 5, 6, Blood 
will I draw on thee, thou art a witch, 
refers to the current superstition of 
those times which taught that he that 
could draw the witch's blood was free 
from her power. Johnson. 

In the time of Sh. the word was 
applied to persons of either sex. Thus, 
it is applied to males in Err. IV, 4, 160 ; 
Ant. I, 2, 40 ; Cym. I, 6, 166. The word 
wizard also occurs four times in the 
plays. See tail in Supplement. 



withering. Slowly wasting away, Mids. 

1, 1, 6. 

This phrase is quite apt and expres- 
sive, though Warburton asserted that it 
is not good English and emended by 
changing to wintering on. 

witliers. The highest part of the back of a 
horse, between the shoulder-blades and 
the root of the neck ; it literally means 
the resisting part. IHIV. II, 1, 8; 
Hml. Ill, 2, 253. 

wit=oId. A pun upon wittol, q.v.,ot which 
horns, two lines lower down, are the 
"figure." LLL. V, 1, 66. 

witliout. 1. Beyond. Tp. V, 1, 271; 

Mids. IV, 1, 158. 
2. Except. Gent. II, 1, 38 ; Wint. IV, 2, 16. 
Macbeth's speech, Tts better thee 
without than he within (Mcb. Ill, 4, 
14) has received several interpreta- 
tions. Johnson paraphrases thus: "It 
is better that his blood were on thy 
face than he in this room." Others 3 
" Better on thy face than in his body.'* 
Hunter has a long note on the passage 
in which he tries to show that Macbeth's 
speeches are asides, not addressed to 
the murderer, and concludes thus : "In 
what follows, we cannot suppose that 
Macbeth speaks so as to be heard by the 
murderer, much less speaks to him, re- 
vealing the secret purpose and thoughts 
of his mind." "New Illustrations," 
Vol. II, p. 191. I think a careful reading 
of the whole passage will fail to uphold 
this view. 

wits. Senses. Ado. I, 1, 66 ; Tw. IV, 2, 
93. See wit, n. 

wittol. A contented cuckold. Wiv. II, 

2, 317. 

wittolly. Wittol-like. Wiv. II, 2, 288. 

wolf. In regard to Edgar's comparisons 
in Lr. Ill, 4, 95, et seq., Prof. Skeat 
remarks that in "The Ancren Riwle'' 
the seven deadly sins are figured under 
the names of various animals. Steevens 
points out that Harsnet, in his " De- 
claration," says that "the Jesuits pre- 
tended to cast the seven deadly sins out 
of Mainy in the shape of those animals 
that represented them ; and before each 



WOL 



377 



WOO 



was cast out, Mainy, by gestures, acted 
that particular sin ; curling his hair to 
show p7'ide, vomiting for gluttony, 
gaping and snoring for sloth, etc. " Sh. 
was no doubt familiar with Harsnet's 
book. 
Wolsey, Cardinal, dr. p. HVIII. 
woman. The passage in Tw. II, 4, 30, 
still let the woman take An elder than 
herself, has given rise to the most 
diverse comments. I think the majority 
of coms. feel that in this line Sh. gives 
expression to his feelings over the result 
of a violation of the precept in his own 
case. "Anne Hathaway, whom Sh. 
married in June or July, 1582, was then 
in her twenty-sixth year, that is seven 
years and a half older than her husband : 
a disproportion of age which seldom 
fails, at a subsequent period of life, 
to be productive of unhappiness, and 
which, perhaps, about thirteen years 
afterwards, gave rise to a part of 
the following beautiful verses on the 
subject of marriage, which no man who 
ever felt the passion of love, can read 
without emotion." Malone, "Life of 
William Shakspeare." 3rd Var., Vol. 
II, p. 112. The lines quoted are Mids. 
I, 1, 133, et seq., particular attention 
being called to line 137, or else mis- 
graffed in res2oect of years ; and he 
adds : " Perhaps, indeed, the same feel- 
ing suggested the following judicious 
precept, at a still later period, when our 
poet was in his forty-third year. " And 
he then quotes Tw. II, 4, 29, et seq. 

After giving two pages of quotations, 
the majority of which agree with Malone, 
Dr. Furness adds this note : ' ' Not only 
do I not believe that Shakespeare was 
here referring to his own experience, 
but I do not believe that Orsino's 
assertion itself is true. The record of 
marriages whei^e the woman is the elder 
will prove, I think, that, as a rule, such 
unions, founded as they are, not on the 
fleeting attractions of youth, which is 
' a stuff will not endure, ' but on the 
abiding elements of intellectual con- 
geniality, have been unusually happy." 



I think most men will agree with Sh. 
and hold that such happy marriages are 
the exception, and not " the rule " ; and, 
besides, a mere intellectual partnership 
is not marriage in the highest sense. 

For women as actors, see female 
actors. 
womb. Belly ; paunch. 2HIV. IV, 3, 24. 
This is the original meaning of the word 
which still survives in the Scotch waTne. 
Thus, in Wiclif 's version of St. Luke we 
find (xv. 16) : " And he coveitide to fille 
his wombe of the coddis that the hoggis 
eeten, and no man gaf hym " ; and in 
" The Canterbury Tales," by Chaucer : 

Of this matere, o Poule, well canst 

thou trete ; 
Mete unto wombe and wombe eke 

unto mete. 

Rolfe thinks that Falstaff uses the 

word "jocosely," but it seems to me 

that the joke did not consist in the mere 

use of this word ; it lay far deeper. 

wonder'd. Able to perform wonders. 

Wright. Tp. IV, 1, 128. 
woodbine. A plant of this name is i-e- 
ferred to three times in the plays, but 
it is not quite certain which plant is 
meant. In Mids. IV, 1, 48, honeysuckle 
and woodbine are both mentioned, while 
several authors claim that they are 
really the same plant. Johnson thought 
that woodbine was the plant and honey- 
suckle the flower, and Baret, in his 
" Alvearie," makes the same distinction 
and speaks of " Woodbin that beareth 
the Honiesuckle. " Some, however, have 
concluded from this that woodbine was 
a name for any climbing plant. Thus, 
Steevens claims that it is even applied 
to the ivy. Various species of Lonicera 
and convolvulus have been claimed as 
the true plants. The difficulty arises 
from the uncertainty which affects all 
the popular names of plants and animals 
and which vary with each locality. 
White, in discussing this subject, mixes 
up American and English names some- 
what confusedly. Upon this point, see 
ante article on robin. The general idea 
that Sh, wishes to convey, one plant 



woo 



WOR 



twining about another, is clear enough. 
The other references to this plant are 
Ado. Ill, 1, 30, and Mids. II, 1, 251. 

woodcock. A highly-esteemed game-bird, 
the Scolopax rusticula (sometimes, 
erroneously, rusticola, as by Schm.) 
or European woodcock, the American 
woodcock being a smaller bird of a 
different species. In former times the 
woodcock was caught in large numbers 
in snares or springes, and it was so 
easily deceived that the term woodcock 
became a synonym for a foolish person. 
Some one who evidently had no practical 
knowledge of the bird attempted to 
explain this by the assertion that ' ' the 
bird was supposed to have no brains," 
and this erroneous statement has found 
a place in many respectable Shake- 
spearean commentaries. The truth is 
that the woodcock's brain is quite large 
in proportion to the size of the bird 
and it is regarded as quite a delicious 
morsel. Ado. V, 1, 158 ; All's. IV, 1, 
100; Tw. II, 5, 9:3 ; Hml. I, 3, 115. 

woodman. A hunter ; one skilled in 
tracking game. Hence, a pursuer of 
deer (dears). Wiv. V, 5, 29. 

Woodville, dr. p. Lieutenant of the Tower. 
IHVI. 

woollen. Made of wool. To lie in the 
woollen (Ado. II, 1, 33) is supposed by 
Steevens to mean between blankets, 
without sheets, cf. LLL. V, 2, 717, 
/ have no shirt; I go woolward for 
penance. The wearing of woollen next 
the skin was often enjoined by the 
Church of Rome as a penance. There 
are numerous allusions to this in the 
literature of Sh. time. In "Exchange 
Ware at the Second Hand" (1615) we 
find: 

* * * make 
Their enemies, like Friers, woolward 
to lie. 

Some explain the phrase as being buried, 
as it was at one time the custom to bury, 
in woollen grave-clothes. 

In Merch. IV, 1, 56, this term, as used 
by Shylock, evidently has reference to 
some special condition connected with 



"singing in the nose." It is very 
doubtful if any of the glosses that have 
been given are correct. The proper place 
to look for a solution of this crux is 
amongst skilled bag-pipe players. 

woolward. Having wool next the skin. 
LLL. V, 2, 717. See woollen. 

Worcester, Earl of, dr. p. Thomas Percy. 
IHIV. and 2HIV. 

word. As a general rule this term oc- 
casions no diflficulty. In John III, 4, 
110, the reading in the g. a. text is : the 
sweet world'' s taste; it is word''s taste 
in the Fl. As it occurs in Hml. IV, 6, 
105, The ratifiers and props of every 
word, it has been emended to " ward," 
"weal," "work," "worth," etc., but 
the best coms. think that no emendation 
is required. Antiquity and custom are 
the ratifiers and props of every title 
and of every law, both of which depend 
upon "a form of sound words." Or, 
perhaps, as Schm. explains it: "Of 
everything that is to serve for a watch- 
word and shibboleth to the multitude." 
Caldecott says: ^'■Word is term, and 
means appellation or title ; as lord used 
before and king afterwards ; and in its 
most extended sense must import ' every 
human establishment.' The sense of 
the passage is — As far as antiquity 
ratifies, and custom makes every term, 
denomination, or title known, they run 
counter to them, by talking, when they 
mention kings, of their right of chusing 
and of saying who shall be king or 
sovereign." 

Of the passage in Tw. Ill, 1, 24, words 
are very rascals since bonds disgraced 
them, Furness says: "I have given 
every explanation that I can find of this 
dark passage; and I confess that none 
of them afl'oi'ds me a ray of light. ' ' The 
chief explanations are : (1) The restric- 
tions laid on the Poet's art by an order 
in Privy Council, June, 1600. These 
restrictions may be said to have placed 
words under bonds and so disgraced 
them. (2) Words are put into bonds 
{i.e., money bonds) and hence may be 
said to be in confinement (in bonds' or 



WOE 



379 



won 



shackles) and so disgraced, (o) Bonds 
have disgraced words by using them in 
the trickeries of business. To these 
Furness adds : " Words are placed in 
bonds wheii they are accurately defined. 
To have strict, unalterable meanings 
attached to words could not but have 
been offensive to Feste, whose delight, 
and even profession, it was to be a 
'corrupter of words.'" But may not 
the meaning be : In the golden age a 
man's word was a sufficient obligation 
and was always accepted as such, but 
now mere words are discredited or dis- 
graced because written bonds are always 
required. 

The expression, I moralize two mean- 
ings in one word (RIII. Ill, 1, 83), 
" signifies either ' extract the double 
and latent meaning of one word or 
sentence ' or ' couch two meanings 
under one word or sentence. ' " Malone. 
Word here means a saying, a short 
sentence, a proverb, as motto does in 
Italian and bon-mot in French. Mason. 
I am at a word (Wiv. I, 3, 15) = I 
am as good as my word. 

He words me girls (Ant. V, 2, 191) 
means : He puts me off with words. 

work. A military term signifying a 
fortification. HVIII. V, 4, 61 ; 0th. 
Ill, 2, 3. 

workings. Labours of thought. Steevens. 
3HIV. IV, 2, 23. 

Mock your workings in a second 
body (2HIV. V, 2, 90) means : Treat 
with contempt your acts executed by a 
representative. Johnson. 

world. In regard to the saying of Beat- 
rice in Ado. II, 1, 331, thus goes every- 
one to the world but I, Hunter remarks 
that there are few phrases which are 
more decidedly unsophisticated English. 
It signifies ' ' tying oneself to the world, ' ' 
and expresses entering on the cares and 
duties of the married life, just as the 
nun, betaking herself to the cloister, is 
said " to forsake the world." See sun- 
burned. 

worm. This word is frequently used by 
Sh. as synonymous with S7iake, as in 



Meas. Ill, 1, 17; Mids. Ill, 2, 71 ; Ant. 
V, 2, 243. In Meas. Ill, 1, 16, the Duke 
makes the popular mistake of supposing 
that the " fork " or tongue of the snake 
is its weapon of offence. 

In Ado. V, 2, 86, and RIII. I, 3, 222, 
the worm is taken as the emblem of 
conscience, the suggestion being, no 
doubt, taken from Mark ix, 48 : " Where 
their worm dieth not, and the fire is 
not quenched." In the old Mysteries 
or Moralities the conscience was repre- 
sented under the figure of a worm or 
a serpent. Halliwell tells us that in the 
entry of payments for expenses incurred 
in representing the Coventry Mysteries 
is the following for dresses : ' ' Item payd 
to ij wormes of conscience, xvj. d." 

wormwood. A plant proverbial for its 
bitterness. The true wormwood, Ar- 
temisia Absinthium, is a perennial. 
The common name, wormwood, is a 
modified form of tvennode. ' ' The com- 
pound wer-mod unquestionably means 
ware-mood or ' mind preserver ' and 
points back to some primitive belief as 
to the curative properties of the plant 
in mental affections. " Skeat. LLL. V, 
2, 857; Hml. Ill, 2, 191. It has long been 
in use amongst the common people in 
weaning children. Rom. I, 3, 26. See 
7'ue. 

worst. Of the passage in Tim. IV, 3, 
275, If thou hadst not been born the 
worst of men, Thou hadst been a knave 
and flatterer, Johnson says: "Shake- 
speare has here given a specimen [of his 
power of satire] by a line, bitter beyond 
all bitterness, in which Timon tells 
Apemantus that he had not virtue 
enough for the vices which he con- 
demns. " 

wort. 1. The sweet solution of malt which, 
when fermented, becomes beer or ale. 
LLL. V, 2, 233. 

2. A plant of any kind, but usually 
applied to the cabbage or col wort, and 
used by Falstaff to ridicule Sir Hugh's 
pronunciation of words. Wiv. I, 1, 124. 
Frequently appended to the names of 
plants as in mugwort. Orchard is 



WOR 



380 



WRE 



from the same root and means a plant- 
yard or garden, in which sense the word 
is generally used in Sh. 

worth. Wealth. Tw. Ill, 3, 17. 

His worth Of contradiction (Cor. Ill, 
3, 26) = his full share or proportion of 
contradiction. 

worthied. Rendered worthy or deserving. 
Lr. II, 2, 128. 

worthies. The " nine worthies " alluded 
to in LLL. V, 1, 488, were : Joshua, 
David and Judas Maccabseus ; Hector, 
Alexander and Julius Caesar ; and 
Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of 
Bouillon. Thus, there were three Jews, 
three Pagans and three Christian 
Knights. 

woundless. Invulnerable. Hml. IV, 1, 44. 

wounds. The passage in RIII. I, 2, 55, 
dead Henry''s ivounds open their con- 
geaVd mouths and bleed afresh ! ret ers 
to a superstition very common in the 
time of Sh. Johnson tells us that " it 
is a tradition, very generally received, 
that the murdered body bleeds on the 
touch of the murderer. This was so 
much believed by Sir Kenelm Digby 
that he has endeavoured to explain the 
reason." To this Steevens adds several 
quotations, amongst others, one from 
T he Widow'' s Tears, by Chapman (1612) : 
" The captain will assay an old con- 
clusion often approved ; that at the 
mui'derer's sight the blood revives again 
and boils afresh ; and every wound has 
a condemning voice to cry out guilty 
against the murderer." And Drayton, 
in the 46th Idea, has : 

If the vile actors of the heinous deed 
Near the dead body happily be brought , 
Oft 't hath been proved that breathless 
corps will bleed. 

Toilet observes that " this opinion seems 
to be derived from the ancient Swedes 
or Northern nations, from whom we 
descend ; for they practised this method 
of trial in dubious cases." Those who 
have read Scott's "Fair Maid of Perth " 
cannot fail to remember the vain at- 
tempt to bring Bonthron, the brutal 
murderer of Oliver Proudfute, the 



Bonnet-maker, to touch the corpse of 
his victim. 

wrack. Wreck ; destruction ; ruin. Tp. 
I, 2, 26 ; Mcb. V, 5, 51. The modern 
word wreck was always spelled and 
pronounced wrack in the time of Sh. 
The "Globe" and many modern eds. 
change the spelling in some cases to 
wreck. 

wrangler. An adversary ; a term in 
tennis. HV. I, 2, 264. 

wreak. Revenge, Cor. IV, 5, 91 ; Tit. 
IV, 3, 33. 

wreakful. Revengeful. Tit. V, 2, 32; 
Tim. IV, 3, 229. 

wreckful. Destructive. Sonn. LXV, 6. 

wren. This little bird is mentioned nine 
times in the plays, and in nearly all 
cases the feature that is most noted is 
its diminutive size. The only passage, 
however, in which the wren is spoken 
of and which requires comment is that 
in Tw. Ill, 2, 70, where Sir Toby says 
of Maria, Look ivhere the youngest 
wren of mine comes. The word tnine 
of the FF. in this line, was changed to 
nine by Theobald, and this emendation 
has been adopted by the " Cambridge," 
the "Globe," Warburton, Johnson, 
3rd Var., Dyce, Knight, White, Hudson, 
Rolfe, "The Henry Irving Sh.," "The 
Leopold Sh." (Delius and Furnivall), 
and almost all the eds. , though, I think, 
without good grounds. Furness, of 
course, follows the FL, and Halliwell is 
one of the very few who retain mine. 
The reason for the change, as given by 
Hanmer, is: "The wren is remarkable 
for laying many eggs at a time [she 
really lays but one at a time, but let 
that pass], nine or ten, and sometimes 
more ; and as she is the smallest of 
birds, the last of so large a brood may 
be supposed to be little indeed, which 
is the image intended here to be given 
of Maria " ; and Warburton adds : " The 
women's parts were then acted by boys, ■ 
sometimes so low in stature that there 
was occasion to obviate the impropriety 
by such kind of oblique apologies." 
(This does not quite agree with Jordan's 



WEE 



381 



WRE 



account. See female actors.) White, 
in his "Riverside ed.," actually says : 
"The wren lays nine eggs," though, as 
a well-known matter of fact, the num- 
ber varies w ithin wide limits ; and these 
arguments seem to have been adopted 
by all subsequent corns. 

To me these reasons do not seem at 
all forcible. Why nine'i If a large 
number be needed, why not make it 
twelve or fifteen ? Every Old Country 
boy-naturalist knows that the wren 
often lays more than nine or ten eggs. 
To me the speech of Sir Toby carries a 
very different meaning. Sir Toby was 
a roysterer and, no doubt, like all men 
of his kidney, loved to boast of his 
success with the fair sex. Now, the 
wren, whether the fli'st or the ninth of 
the brood, is small, and we know that 
Maria was small. Sir Toby calls her 
" the little villain," and Viola speaks 
of her ironically as "your giant." 
Moreover, the wa-en is a notoriously 
amorous bird (Lr. IV, 6, 114), and we 
know that Maria was so in love with 
Sir Toby that it had not escaped the 
observation of the Clown, cf. Tw, I, 
5, 29 to 32, where she half acknowledges 
it ; and we are told in V, 1 , 372, that he 
marries her. Therefore he had a right 
to say : " Look where the youngest 
wren of mine comes ; my youngest 
[latest] conquest." "In contempt of 
question," the reading of the Folio is 
right and gives the best sense, and the 
rule is imperative that no change should 
be made unless absolutely necessary. 

The wren of Great Britain and Ireland 
differs materially in appearance and 
habits from any of the wrens found 
on the American continent. It is the 
Troglodytes parvulus of the ornitholo- 
gist, and while it does not live in caves, 
it generally builds its nest under cover 
of some kind, most frequently in out- 
houses. The nest is always covered 
with a dome, dome and nest foi'ming 
one structure, and entrance being gained 
through a hole in the side. In this nest 
the bird lays its eggs, varying in number 



from seven or eight to sixteen and even 
as many as eighteen. 

There is no bird more intimately con- 
nected with the folk-lore of Europe than 
the wren, and the number of names 
that have been applied to it, is remark- 
able — the French alone giving it 139 
local names. In English also the num- 
ber is quite large. It is sometimes 
called "Our Lady of Heaven's hen," 
and Kitty- wren and Jenny- wren are 
common terms. The last name will 
recall that of the Doll's Dressmaker in 
" Our Mutual Friend." 

In the old folk-lore the wren is called 
the " King of Birds," and the following 
legend is related as accounting for the 
title : The birds having determined to 
choose a king, it was finally decided 
that the bird which could mount highest 
should have that honor. Of course, 
the eagle rose higher than any one else, 
and the assembly were about to pro- 
claim him king, when a loud burst of 
song was heard, and out of the feathers 
on his back rose the triumphant little 
wren which, unseen and unfelt, had 
been borne aloft on the back of the 
giant. So the wren became the king of 
birds. 

In Ireland, in South Wales and in the 
South of France it is customary to 
" hunt the wren " on St. Stephen's day 
— the 26th of December. The origin of 
this cruel and barbarous orgie has never 
yet been satisfactorily explained. Men 
and boys go round to the farm houses 
with the wren in a little box, which is 
called its coffin, and money is collected 
for the purpose of giving it " a decent 
burial." That any excuse is good 
enough for collecting money for a spree 
requires no argument, but the connection 
of the wren with such a frolic or with 
the Feast of the Three Kings is not 
quite so evident. 
wrest, 71. A tuning key ; an instrument 
for adjusting the tightness of the strings 
of the harp. Troil. Ill, 3, 23. Johnson 
explained the word here as meaning 
distortion, i.e., the loss of Antenor was 



WEE 



383 



XAN 



such a violent distortion of their affairs. 
Theobald suggested rest, drawing the 
simile from the use of a rest for sup- 
porting a musket. But the expression 
"must slack" shows that the explana- 
tion of Steevens and Douce (which we 
adopt) is the correct one. 

wrested pomp. Grreatness obtained by 
violence. Johnson. Malone remarks : 
" Rather greatness wrested from its 
possessor. But they both come to the 
same thing. Faulconbridge had just 
left the mangled remains of Prince 
Arthur, and it was this that inspired 
his speech. Schm. suggests " wretched " 
as an emendment, but the original 
obviously gives the best sense. 

wretched. Hateful; vile; utterly bad. 
RIII. V, 2, 7 ; Lucr. 999. 

wring. To writhe. Ado, V, 1, 28. 

wringing. Torture. HV. IV, 1, 253. 

writ. This word, as it occurs in Hml. II, 
2, 431, has given trouble to some. Walker 
insists that it should be wit, claim- 
ing that writ for com20osition is not 
English. Not modern English certainly, 
but old English or Scotch, very surely. 
" Hand o' writ" for hand- writing is a 
common Scotch expression, found, I 
think, in Scott. The expression: the 



law of writ and the liberty probably 
means, "for observing the parts set 
down for them and for freedom of im- 
provising." Caldecott explains it as: 
" For the observance of the rules of the 
drama, while they take such liberties as 
are allowable, they are the only men." 

write. To claim ; to style oneself. All's. 
II, 3, 67, and II, 3, 208; 2HIV. I, 2, 30; 
Lr. V, 3, 35. 

writliled. V^rinkled. IHVI. II, 3, 33. 
Some have supposed that this word 
is a mere misspelling of wrinkled, but 
we find it in Sir J. Harrington's version 
of the " Orlando Furioso " : 
To scorne her writhe! d skin and evill 
favour. —Book XX, Stanza 76. 

wrong. Prospero's words : / fear you 
have done yourself some wrong (Tp. 
1, 2, 443) , are thus explained by Steevens : 
" I fear that in asserting yourself to be 
King of Naples, you have uttered a 
falsehood which is below your character 
and, consequently, injurious to your 
honour." 

wroth. Calamity; misery; sorrow. Merch. 
II, 9, 78. 

wrung, p.p. of ivring. Hurt; galled; 
chafed ; strained. IHIV. II, 1, 7. 

wry, V. To swerve. Cym. V, 1, 5. 



^^^ANTHIPPE. The wife of Socrates, 
'^^"^'^^^ the famous philosopher. Her 
alleged shrewish temper is pro- 
verbial, and her name has be- 
come the synonym for a scold. Shr. 
I, 2, 71. 

As an illustration of her shrewishness 
and the mild temper of her husband we 
are told that on one occasion, a f ter she 
had scolded him unmercifully until her 
tongue gave out and yet wdthout draw- 
ing forth the slightest remonstrance or 
exciting the least anger on his part, 
she emptied a vessel of dirty water over 
him. His only remark was that "after 



thunder we must naturally expect 
rain." 

But, on the other hand, it is claimed 
that Xanthippe had good cause for her 
shrewishness. Socrates and his wife had 
several children, and report says that he 
did not provide veiy liberally for their 
wants. Dr. Jackson, of Cambridge 
(Eng.), in his account of Socrates, tells 
us that "the eccentricity of Socrates' 
life was not less remarkable than the 
oddity of his appearance and the irony 
of his conversation. His whole time 
was spent in public — in the market- 
place, the streets, the gymnasia. * * * 



XAN 



383 



YEA 



He talked to all comers — to the crafts- 
man and the artist as willingly as to 
the poet or the politician. * * * His 
meat and drink were of the poorest; 
summer and winter his coat was the 
same ; he was shoeless and shirtless. ' A 
slave whose master made him live as 
you do, ' says a sophist in the Me^nora- 
bilia, 'would run away.'" Now, it 
stands to reason that if most of his 
time was spent in wandering about the 
streets or sitting on a soap-box in some 
corner grocery holding forth to the 



assembled idlers of the neighborhood, 
his wife and family must have fared 
but poorly. We have no doubt that 
many a time his wife had to pick up 
material for a dinner for herself and 
children as best she could, and we can 
readily suppose that when her lord and 
master, impelled by hunger, came home 
at noon and wanted something to eat, 
neither his dinner nor his welcome would 
be very warm. 

So, perhaps, after all, there may be a 
good deal to be said for Mrs. Socrates. 




" The participial prefix y- is 
only two or three times used in 
Sh. plays : ' y-clept, ' ' j'-clad, ' 
' y-slaked. ' In early English 
y- is prefixed to other forms of speech 
besides participles, like the German ge-. 
But in Elizabethan English the y- was 
wholly disused except as a participial 
prefix, and even the latter was archaic. " 
Abbott, Sh. Gram., §345. 

yare. Ready ; nimble ; quick. Tp. I, 1, 
7; Meas. IV, 2, 61; Tw. Ill, 4, 244; 
Ant. Ill, 7, 39. 

yarely. Readily ; actively. Tp. I, 1, 4 ; 
Ant. II, 2, 216. 

Yaughan. It is generally supposed that 
this was the name of a tavern-keeper 
near the theatre — one who was well 
known to the frequenters of the Globe 
and whose name, like all local allusions, 
would bring down the house. Elze, with 
German subtlety, supposes that it is an 
allusion to the name Johan in the sneer- 
ing "Johannes factotum" that Greene 
applies to Sh. Hml. V, 1, 68. Like 
many German comments this is de- 
cidedly farfetched as well as improb- 
able. 

yaw. To move unsteadily as a ship which 
does not answer the helm. Hml. V, 2, 
120. This word has given rise to a good 
deal of discussion. Johnson suggested 
that yaw was a misprint for raw. The 



whole passage is designedly stilted and 
affected and intended to ridicule Osric. 

yclad. Clad. 2HVI. I, 1, 33. 

ycleped, ^ Named; called. LLL. I, 1, 

yclipped. \ 243 ; do. V, 2, 603. 

Yead. Same as Ed. , which is a contrac- 
tion for Edward. Wiv. I, 1, 160. cf. 
Yedward. 

Yedward. Same as Edward. IHIV. I, 
2, 149. Some claim that the Y is here a 
contraction of 7iiy. It is more than prob- 
able that it is the old English addition 
to many words ; this addition still sur- 
vives in some parts of Scotland in the 
words, ale, once, one, oats, etc., of which 
the Scotch form is, in some localities, 
yill, yin, yince, etc. [See the "Glossary " 
appended to the editions of Burns's 
works issued under his own supervision 
where yill = ale. It is also heard in 
Lancashire, and in Shadwell's "Lanca- 
shire Witches," Clod, who speaks the 
Lancashire dialect, says: "Why, 'tis 
Sir Yedard Hartf ort's. ' ' See Y. 

yea=forsooth, A " yea-forsooth knave " 
was one who used mild forms of oatk 
instead of the "red- lattice phrases and 
bold-beating oaths" of such men as 
Falstaff, Pistol and others. 2HIV. I, 
2, 41. Probably equivalent to rascally 
Puritan. 

yean. See ean. 

yeanling. See eanling. 



YEA 



384 



YIE 



year. The expression, thou heap'st a 
year's age on me (Cym. I, 1, 133), has 
given much needless trouble to the 
corns. E-olfe says: "As the passage 
stands, this seems an impotent con- 
clusion, and the defective measure of 
the preceding line suggests that some- 
thing may have been lost." Hanmer 
emended to heapest many; Capell, 
heap'st instead; Theobald, heap'st a 
yare age; Johnson, heap'' sty ear s^ ages, 
etc., etc. The difficulty that seems to 
strike these eds. is that an extra year's 
age would be such a trifling matter that 
it would not be worth mentioning. But 
to the aged, a year's age, with its in- 
creasing infirmities, is no such trifling 
matter, and Cymbeline could not have 
said "many years" with propriety for 
his hair had not whitened ; his step did 
not falter, but he felt that his hopes had 
gone, and whether the effect of one year 
or of twenty, was a matter of trifling 
importance. 

yearn. To grieve; to vex. Wiv. Ill, 5, 
45 ; HV. IV, 8, 26. 

yellow. The emblem of jealousy. Wint. 
II, 3, 107. 

yellowness. Jealousy. Wiv. I, 3, 111. 

yellows. The jaundice. Shr. Ill, 2, 54. 
Youatt, speaking of jaundice in horses, 
says: "Jaundice, commonly called the 
yellows, is the introduction of bile into 
general circulation. * * * The yellow- 
ness of the eyes and mouth and of the 
skin, where it is not covered with hair, 
mark it sufficiently plainly." 

yeoman. 1. A freeholder; one owning a 
small landed property, but not entitled to 
wear a crest and, consequently, not rank- 
ing as a gentleman in the higher sense of 
that word. IHIV. IV, 2, 16 ; IHVI. II, 
4, 81 and 85. c/. Lr. Ill, 6, 11, et seq. 

2. An utider-bailiff ; an attendant or as- 
sistant. 2HIV. II, 1, 4. 

3. A gentleman attendant in a royal 
or noble household, ranking between a 
sergeant and a groom. Tw. II, 5, 45. 

"Yeoman's service means "that which 
is as good service as a yeoman per- 
formed for his feudal lord. ' ' Caldecott. 



"The ancient yeomen were famous for 

their military valor. " Steevens. Hml. 

V, 2, 36. 
yerk. To make a sudden push or motion. 

0th. I, 2, 5. A mere phonetic variation 

of jerk. 
yest. The foam on troubled water. Wint. 

III, 3, 94. 

yesty. Foamy; frothy; frivolous. Mcb. 

IV, 1,53; Hml. V, 2, 199. 

yew. A tree of slow growth frequently 
planted in churchyards. The wood of 
the yew is a favorite for making bows. 
It is "called double-fatal because its 
leaves are poisonous and the wood is 
employed for instruments of death." 
Warburton. RII. Ill, 2, 117. 

The poisonous character of the leaves 
and seeds gave the yew a reputation 
for evil which caused it to be used in 
the incantations of witches, as in Mcb. 
IV, 1, 29. But it was also regarded as 
the symbol of immortality and of the 
future life, and sprigs of yew were 
employed in funeral ceremonies, a cus- 
tom noted in Tw. II, 4, 56. See hebenon. 

yield. To reward; to bless. Ant. IV, 2, 
33. cf. GodHld. 

As the word occurs in Lr. IV, 1, 12, 
Life would not yield to age, it has 
occasioned some comment. Craig calls 
this a difficult passage, and undoubtedly 
so it is, though here, as frequently else- 
where, the general meaning is very 
obvious. Malone's explanation is prob- 
ably correct. It is: "O world! if re- 
verses of fortune and changes such as I 
now see and feel, from ease and affluence 
to poverty and misery, did not show us 
the little value of life, we should never 
submit with any kind of resignation to 
the weight of years, and its necessary 
consequence, infirmity and death." 

The word yield seems to be used here 
in some unusual sense. Is it possible 
that it is a verb formed from the old 
word eld or eild with prefixed y, as in 
Yedward, q. v., and signifying to age 
or grow old ? The meaning then would 
be that we would not keep on aging 
until we were very old; we would 



tOK 



385 



YOU 



rather die by our own band. The word 
yeild (or yeelde as it is spelled in the 
Fl.) being substituted for age (verb) to 
avoid tautology. 

On turning to the Scottish diction- 
aries, and especially to the Glossary 
appended to Sibbald's "Chronicle of 
Scottish Poetry," I find yeild [sic\ {n) 
= old age. The word is also given as 
an adjective, so that its use as a verb in 
this sense does not seem to be very far- 
fetched. If so used, the word should be 
spelled yeild and not yield. 

Some conjectural emendations have 
been proposed, but if my gloss is correct 
they are unnecessary. 

yoked. Yoked with his that did betray 
the Best (Wint. I, 2, 419), that is, with 
Judas who betrayed Christ. The capital 
B in Best shows this. Douce points out 
that in the sentence against excom- 
municated persons there was a clause : 
" Let them have part with Judas that 
betrayed Christ. Amen ' ' ; and he sug- 
gests that "this is here imitated." 

yoke=devils. Two devils yoked together. 
HV. II, 3, 106. 

yokes. In the g. a. text the passage 
in Wiv. V, 5, 111, reads : do not 
these fair yokes Become the forest 
better than the town ? In the Fl. it 
is yoaks ; in the F3. and F8., okes, 
and in F4., oakes, and there has 
been a good deal of discussion as to 
which is correct. The allusion is ob- 
viously to the horns, the emblems of 
cuckoldom, with which Falstaff 's head 
was adorned, but whether the true sense 
is yokes or oaks is not so easily deter- 
mined. Most eds. read yokes. M. Mason 
. says : " I am confident that oaks is the 
right reading, I ^gree with Theobald 
that the words, ' See you these, husband?' 
relate to the buck's horns; but what 
resemblance is there between the horns 
of a buck and a y oak ? W hat connection 
is there between a yoak and a forest ? 
[Oxen, with their yokes, are frequently 
employed in forests. J. P.] Why, none ; 
whereas, on the other hand, the con- 
nection between a forest and an oak is 



evident; nor is the resemblance less 
evident between a tree and the branches 
of a buck's horns ; they are, indeed, 
called branches from that very re- 
semblance ; and the horns of a deer ai-e 
called, in French, les bois. Though 
horns are types of cuckoldom, yoaks 
are not ; and surely the types of cuck- 
oldom, whatever they may be, are more 
proper for a town than for a forest. I 
am surprised that the subsequent editors 
should have adopted an amendment 
which makes the passage nonsense." 

To this note Steevens adds the re- 
mark: "Perhaps, however (as Dr. 
Farmer observes to me), he was not 
aware that the extremities of yokes for 
cattle, as still used in several counties 
of England, bend upwards, and rising 
very high, in shape resemble horns.'''' 
But are not yokes generally attached to 
the neck while the emblems of cuckoldom 
ornament the head ? It seems to me 
that oaks is the true reading. 

yond. Yonder. Hml. I, 1, 36 ; 0th. Ill, 
3, 460. 

York, Archbishop of, dr. p. Scroop. 
IHIV. andSHIV^. 

York, Archbishop of, dr. p. Thomas 
Rotherhara. Kill. 

York, Duchess of, dr. p. RII. 

York, Duchess of, dr. p. Mother to Ed- 
ward IV. RIII. 

York, Duke of, dr.p. Cousin to Henry 
V. HV. 

York, Duke of, dr.p. Uncle to Richard 
II. RII. 

York, Duke of, dr.p. Son to Edward IV. 
RIII. 

Yorick. Various surmises have been made 
as to the origin of this name. Some 
think it is the Danish Georg or Jorg ; 
Magnusson suggests that it may be a 
corruption of Borick; Furness points 
out that Jerick is the name of a Dutch 
Bowr in Chapman's Alphovisus. Hml. 
V, 1, 198. 

young. Recent. HVIII. Ill, 3, 47. young 
bones = unborn progeny. Lr. II, 4, 165. 

Young Cato, dr.p. Friend to Brutus and 
Cassius. Cses. 



YOTJ 



386 20TI 



Young Clifford, dr.p. Son to Lord Clif- 
ford. 2HVI. 

Young Marcius, dr.p. Son to Coriolanus. 
Cor. 

Young Siward, dr.p. Son to Si ward. Mcb. 

your. This word, as it occurs in Mids. 
Ill, 1, 33 ; Hml. IV, 3, 24 ; Ant. II, 7, 
29, is used colloquially, but is regarded 
as vulgar. Howell, in his "Instructions 
for Forraine Travel" (1642), says: 
" There is an odd kind of Anglicism, 
wherein some do frequently express 



themselves, as to say, — Your Boores of 
Holland, sir ; Your Jesuits of Spain, 
sir ; Your Courtesans of Venice, sir ; 
whereunto one answered (not impertin- 
ently) : My Courtesans, sir ? Pox on 
them all for me ! they are none of my 
Courtesans." c/. Shr. 1,2, 31, and see 
me. Also cf. Sh. G-ram., § 221. 

y ravish. To ravish ; to delight. Per. Ill, 
Prol. 35. 

yslaked. To slake ; to abate ; to silence. 
Per. Ill, Prol. 1. 




ANI, or ZANY. A subordinate 
yCry^^^^ buffoon whose office was to 
^y^j^^^ make awkward attempts at 
mimicking the tricks of the 
professional clown. LLL. V, 2, 463 ; 
Tw. I, 5, 96. 

Douce explains zany as the fool's 
bauble, but, as Hunter points out, 
not so used by Sh., and he tells us 
that: "A Zani is explained by old 
Cole [undoubtedly Elisha Coles whose 
"English Dictionary " is before me] to 
mean ' a tumbler who procures laughter 
by his mimic gestures ; a jack-pudding ;" 
and a writer in the Edinburgh Review 
for July, 1869, tells us that "The zany 
in Shakespeare's day was not so much 
a buffoon and mhnic as the obsequious 
follower of a buffoon and the attenuated 
mime of a mimic." Wright says that 
"the Italian Zanni (our zany) is a con- 
traction for Giovanni in the dialect of 
Bergamo, and is the nickname for a 
peasant of that place." See bergomask. 
Zantippe. So spelt in the later Folios. 

See Xanthippe. 
zed. The name of the letter Z, Lr. II, 
2, 69. " Zed is here probably used as a 
term of contempt, because it is the last 
letter in the English alphabet, and as 
its place may be supplied by S ; and the 
Roman alphabet has it not ; neither is 
it read in any word originally Teu- 
tonick." Steevens. 
Ben Jonson, in his "English Gram- 



mar," says : " Z is a letter often heard 
amongst us, but seldom seen." 

Zenelophon. So given in most eds. in 
LLL. IV, 1, 67. There can be no doubt 
about her identity, as the name of 
Cophetua settles that. It is evident, 
therefore, that Zenelophon is a mere 
misprint for Penelophon., and there is 
no reason why the blame should be laid 
on Armado. The ballad is found in 
Richard Johnson's " Crown Garland of 
Goulden Roses" (1612), 12mo., where it 
is entitled simply, " A Song of a Beggar 
and a King." It is given by Percy in 
his "Reliques," First Series, Book II, 1 
No. 6. 

Zentippe. So spelt in the Fl. See 
Xanthippe. 

zenith. A term borrowed from astrology 
and signifying the highest point of one's 
fortune. Tp. I, 2, 181. 

zodiac. The twelve signs through which 
the sun passes ; hence, a year. Meas. I, 
2, 172. "There can be little doubt that 
either ' niyieteen ' in this passage should 
be 'fourteen,' or that 'fourteen years ' 
in the next scene and page should be 
' nineteen years.'' " Dyce. 

zounds. A common oath in former times. 
It is a variant of 's wounds, which is a 
a mincing contraction of God's wounds, 
referring to Christ's sufferings on the 
cross. The word is frequently omitted 
in the Fl., as in 0th. II, 3, 163, where 
it occurs in the g. a. text. See God. 



ADDENDA. 




N order to facilitate reference to various passages which, are the subject 
of annotation, I have added a large number of cross-references that 
really serve the same purpose as an index. Where the required ex- 
planation is merely that of some obsolete word, it is readily found, but 
where the reference is to a line or passage it is not always easy to select the word 
under which it is given. At the same time I have taken advantage of the 
opportunity to add a few additional comments and glosses. 



ADDRESSED. Ready; prepared. Mids. 
V, 1, 106 ; 2HIV. IV, 4, 5 ; Cees. 
Ill, ], 29. 
ad manes /ratrum. {Latin.) To the shades 

of the brothers. Tit. I, 1, 98. 
admiration. Something to be wondered 

at. All's. II, 1, 91. 
Adrian, cl7\p. A lord of Naples. Tp. 
Adriana, dr.p. Wife of Antipholus of 

Ephesus. Err. 
adulterate. To commit adultery. John 

III, 1, 56. 
advertise. To counsel; toinsti'uct. Meas. 

V, 1, 388. 
JBgGon, dr.p. A merchant of Syracuse. 

Err. 
JBgle. A nymph, the daughter of Pan- 

opeus. She was beloved by Theseus, 
• and for her he forsook Ariadne. Mids. 

II, 1, 79. See Theseus. 
yCmilius, d7\p. A noble Roman. Tit. 
i^milius Lepidus, d7'.p. A Roman Trium- 
vir. Caes. 
affection. Sympathy ; correspondence of 

feeling. Merch. IV, 1, 50. 

This passage has called forth a good 

deal of comment. In the Fl . the lines 

read: 

Cannot containe their Vrine for affec- 
tion. 

Masters of passion swayes it to the 
moode. 

Of what it likes or loathes. 

Thirlby suggested a semi-colon after 



urine and no period after affection, 
and this has been adopted in the " Cam- 
bridge," the "Globe" and most eds. 
With this change the sense is obvious. 
See passion. 

Agrippa, dr.p. A friend to Octavius 
Caesar. Ant. 

Agrippa, Menenius, dr.p. A friend to 
Coriolanus. Cor. 

ale. See pugging. 

Alengon, Duke of, dr.p. IHVI. 

ail. This word is frequently used ad- 
verbially by Sh. RII. II, 2, 126 ; Tim. 
I, 1, 139. See Sh. Gram., § 28. 

alliance. The passage in Ado. II, 1, 330, 
Good Lord, for alliance, has received 
several interpretations. Capell thinks 
it means " Good Lord, here have I got 
a new cousin!" Bos well explains it: 
"Good Lord, how many alliances are 
forming," and Furness seems to favor 
this interpretation. 

allottery. That which is allotted ; a por- 
tion or inheritance. As. I, 1, 76. 

Amuratli. "Anmrath the Third (the 
sixth Emperor of the Turks) died on 
January the 18th, 1596. The people 
being generally disaffected to Mahomet, 
his eldest son, and inclined to Amurath, 
one of his younger children, the Em- 
peror's death was concealed for ten days 
by the Janizaries, till Mahomet came 
from Amasia to Constantinople. On 
his ari'ival he was saluted Emperor 



(387) 



ANC 



388 



ARI 



by the great Bassas, and others his 
favourers ; ' which done ' (saysKnolles), 
' he presently after caused all his breth- 
ren to be invited to a solemn feast in 
the court ; whereuntothey, yet ignorant 
of their father's death, came chearfully, 
as men fearing no harm : but, being 
come, tcere there all most miserably 
strangled.'' It is highly probable that 
►Shakespeare here alludes to this trans- 
action. 

" This circumstance, therefore, may 
fix the date of this play subsequently to 
the beginning of the year 1596; and 
perhaps it was written while this fact 
was yet recent." Malone. 2HIV. V, 
2, 48. 

ancient. Old. The ancient of ivar (Lr. 
V, 1, 33) = the elders ; old soldiers 
skilled in the art of war. 

answer, n. Encounter; contest. Hml. 
V, 2, 176. 

answer, v. To encounter ; to resist. Lr. 
Ill, 4, 106. 

Anthony, { In the Fl., Ant. V, 2, 86-88, 

Antony. ) Cleopatra says of Antony : 

For his Bounty 
There was no winter in't. An Anthony 

it was 
That grew the more by reaping : 

The g.a. text, including the "Cam- 
bridge " and the " Globe," read autumn 
for Anthony, the emendation being 
Theobald's. In the Fl. the name An- 
tony is uniformly spelt Anthony. 

Prof. Corson, in his "Introduction 
to the Study of Shakespeare," claims 
that the Folio is right. He gives good 
reasons for the opinion that "autumn " 
makes nonsense of the passage, and 
concludes as follows : "Now, could not 
the ' less Greek ' which, Ben Jonson 
tells us, Shakespeare possessed, have 
led him to see in ' Anthony ' the word 
anthosf [Greek for a young bud or 
sprout] and to quibble on the word as 
meaning a flower garden ? His bounty 
had no winter in it ; it was a luxuriant, 
ever- blooming flower garden." This is 
certainly admirable and not only does 
away with all necessity for emendation, 



but gives real sense to the passage, 
which Theobald's "correction" cer- 
tainly does not give. Strange to say, 
however, the new editions all keep in 
the old track. See note on she and 
ivren, ante. 

Antiopa. An Amazon, the sister of Hip- 
polyta, who married Theseus. Mids. 
II, 1, 80. When Attica was invaded by 
the Amazons, Antiopa fought with 
Theseus against them and died the death 
of a heroine by his side. 

ape. " ' Ape of nature ' is a title accorded 
to more than one painter by his flatterers; 
it was given, among others, to Giotto's 
disciple, Stefano. " Symons. Wint. V, 
2, 108. 

argument. This word in As. Ill, 1, 3, 
evidently means subject and not "cause, 
reason," as Schm. defines it in this 
passage. If argument = reason, it cer- 
tainly could not be absent, Johnson 
says: "An argument is used for the 
contents of a book ; thence, Shakespeare 
considered it as meaning the subject 
and then used it for subject in another 
sense." c/. IHIV. II, 4, 310, and Lr. 
I, 1, 218. 

Ariadne. A daughter of Minos and Pasi- 
phae, of Crete. When Theseus arrived 
in Crete with the tribute sent by the 
Athenians to Minos, Ariadne fell in love 
with him and furnished him with the 
sword with which he killed the Mino- . 
taur, and the clew of thread by which 
he found his way out of the labyrinth. 
Theseus, in return, promised to marry 
her, and she accordingly left Crete with 
him, but when he arrived in Naxos he 
forsook her for the nymph ^gle, the 
daughter of Panopeus. Mids. II, 1, 79. 
Various accounts are given of her fate. 
Some say that she put an end to her 
own life in despair, while other tradi-- 
tions relate that Dionysus saved her 
and, in amazement at her beauty, made 
her his wife. There are several cir- 
cumstances in the story of Ariadne 
which offered the happiest subjects for 
works of art, and some of the finest 
ancient work on gems, as w-ell as paint- 



ARI 



389 



BAD 



iugs, of v/hich Ariadne is the subject, 
are still extant. Gent. IV, 4, 172. See 
Theseus. 

arithmetician. A book-keeper; a busi- 
ness clerk, and not a military man. 
Otii. I, 1, 19. 

Steevens explains it as one "that 
fights by the book of arithmetic." cf. 
Rom. Ill, 1, 106. 

arms. The expression, I must change 
ai'nis at home (Lr. IV", 2, 17), is thus 
explained hj Craig : " ' I must take the 
sword out of my weak husband's hands, 
resigning to him the distaff.' Compare 
the old terms for husband and wife, 
' the spear side ' and ' the spindle side ' ; 
and see Cym. V, 3, 33-34." 

article. Importance; moment. Hml. V, 

as. Upon this word, as it occurs in the 

- expression, That he should hither come 
as this dire night (Rom. V, 3, 247), 
Dowden remarks: "This as used with 
adverbs and adverbial phrases of time 
is still common dialectically, but literary 
English retains only, as yet (N. E. D). 
I have noticed it frequently in Richard- 
son's novels, used as in the following 
from Mrs. 'Delanj''s Autobiog., Ill, 608 
(quoted in N. E. D.) : 'To carry us off 
to Longleat as next Thursday.' Its 
force was restrictive ; now we regard 
it as redundant. Compare Meas. V, 1, 
74 : As then the messenger.'''' 

Asmath. The spirit raised in 2HVI. I, 4. 
The name occurs nowhere else. Some 
have supposed it to be a corruption of 
Asmodeus. 

aspic. This is the archaic form of asp, 
the name of a very venomous serpent 
of Egypt. Aspicke is the spelling of 
the Fl. The word occurs four times in 
the plays, viz., 0th. Ill, 3, 450; Ant. V, 
2, 296, 3.54 and 355. The asp has become 
celebrated as the means by which Cleo- 
patra committed suicide, the particular 
serpent being in all probability the 
horned viper, which is a snake about 
fifteen inches long, though the name 
has also been applied to another species, 
the Naja haje, which attains a length of 



three or four feet. The color of tbe 
horned viper is a mottled gi-een and 
brown, and the skin of the neck is 
dilatable, though less so than that of the 
true cobra. It is of frequent occurrence 
along the Nile, and is the sacred serpent 
of ancient Egypt, represented commonly 
in art as a part of the head-dress of 
kings and divinities and often connected 
with their emblems as a symbol of royal 
power. Cent. Diet. 

ass. A well-known animal. While it is 
more than doubtful that there is any 
pun between ass and as in Hml. V, 2, 
43, it is quite obvious that Maria puns 
upon these two words in Tw. II, 3, 185. 
See ases. 

Atliens. This city was named after 
Atheixa, one of the great divinities of 
the Greeks. By the Romans she was 
identified with Minerva. See Minerva 
and Theseus. The scene of Mids. is 
laid in Athens and the surrounding 
country. 

attest. To stand for. HV., Prol. 16. 

avaunt. Used as a noun in HVIII. II, 3, 
10, meaning dismissal. To give her the 
avaunt = to send her away contemptu- 
ously. Johnson. 

autumn. See Anthony. 



BACKED. It has been suggested that 
this word, as it occurs in Hml. Ill, 
2, 397, should be becked, i.e., snouted. 
Hollinshed, in his "Description of 
England, ' ' has, " if he be wesell-becked, ' ' 
and Quarles uses the word as a term of 
reproach in his Virgin Widow: "Go, 
you weazel-snouted, addle-pated, etc." 
Steevens. The Q4. and Q5. have black 
instead of backed, but as weasels are 
not black, this is probably a typo- 
graphical error, though it has been 
adopted by Pope, Theobald and others. 
Theobald suggested ouzle instead of 
weasel since ouzles are black, cf. 2HIV. 
Ill, 2, 9. 
badge. Douce, in a note on Shr. IV, 1, 
93, says ; "In [the reign of] Edward the 
Fourth the terms livery and badge 



BAK 



890 



BIS 



appear to have been synonymous, the 
former having no doubt been borrowed 
from the French language, and signify- 
ing a thing delivered. The badge con- 
sisted of the master's device, crest or 
arms, on a separate piece of cloth, or 
sometimes silver, in the form of a shield, 
fastened to the left sleeve " ; and a little 
further on he gives a cut of men wear- 
ing badges. Winght says: "A badge 
was a mark of service ; hence, appro- 
priately used for a mark of inferiority, 
and as such an expression of modesty." 
This explains the use of the word in 
Ado. I, 1, 23. 

baker's daughter. See owl. 

bandy. To toss from side to side. A term 
in tennis. LLL. V, 2, 29 ; Lr. I, 4, 92. 

barber=monger. A fop who deals much 
with barbers, to adjust his hair and 
beard. Lr. II, 2, 36. 

barren. Stupid ; unintellectual ; witless. 
Mids. Ill, 2, 13 ; Tw. I, 5, 90 ; Hml. Ill, 
2, 45. 

bass, V. To utter a deep bass sound ; to 
proclaim with a bass voice. Tp. Ill, 3, 99. 

bauble. A trifle ; a thing of no account. 
Cym. Ill, 1, 27. Sometimes defined as 
"a small boat " ; surely not so ; a ship 
may be "a bauble," a trifle; but a 
trifle or bauble does not signify a ship. 

Baucis. See Philemon. 

bawbling. Trifling ; insignificant. Tw. 
V, 1, 57. 

beast. An animal of the ox kind. Lr. 
Ill, 4, 109. A special, but very common 
application of the word. 

becomed love. '■'• Becomed for becoming: 
one participle for the other ; a frequent 
practice with our author." Steevens. 
Rom. IV, 2, 26. See Sh. Gram., §374. 

becoming, n. Grace. Ant. I, 3, 96; 
Sonn. CL, 5. 

bell, as sound as a. A very old proverb, 
still in common use, found in Ado. Ill, 
2, 13. As is well known to every old 
woman who buys crockery and tests its 
soundness by tapping it and causing it 
to ring, a bell which has the slightest 
crack no longer gives a true ringing 
sound. Steevens, followed by most 



coms., thinks that "there is a covert 
allusion to the old proverb: 'As the 
fool thinketh, So the bell clinketh.'." 
Wright thinks that the allusion is so 
covert as to be doubtful, and most 
sensible readers must agree with him. 

bend. To direct. RIII. I, 3, 95 ; Lr. IV, 
2,74. 

beshrew. To blame severely. Rom. Ill, 
2, 26. 

Best, The. Jesus Christ. Wint. I, 2, 
419. ^ee yoked. 

bestow. To carry ; to show. As. IV, 2, 
85 ; 2HIV. II, 2, 84. 

betray. See yoked. 

bias. 1. Awry. Troil. I, 3, 15. 
2. Swollen out of shape "as the bowl on 
the biassed side." Johnson. Troil. 
IV, 5, 8. 

biggen. The origin of this word is thus 
given by Boucher in his "Glossary of 
Arch, and Pro v. Words": "A cap, 
quoif , or dress for the head, formerly 
worn by men, but now limited, I believe, 
almost entirely to some particular cap 
or bonnet for young children. * * * 
Caps or coifs were probably first called 
beguins or biggins, from their resem- 
blance to the caps or head-dress worn 
by those Societies of young women who 
were called Beguines in France and 
who led a middle kind of life between 
the secular and religious, made no vows, 
but maintained themselves by the work 
of their own hands." Apud Dyce. 

bird. Hamlet's speech (Hml. I, 5, 116), 
Hillo, ho, ho, boy! come, bird, come, 
"is the call which falconers use to their 
hawk in the air, when they would have 
him come down to them." Hanmer. 

biscuit. Thus defined by Skeat : "A 
kind of cake baked hard." It was so 
called because it was twice baked {bis 
coctus) so as to dry it thoroughly in 
order that it might keep. In Great 
Britain the term is always applied to 
what we call crackers or hard tack. 
We use it to designate a small loaf, 
usually prepared without fermentation 
and used in a fresh and soft state. Even 
Achilles could not "pun" one of our 



BIT 



391 



BBA 



biscuits into shivers ; a blow would only 
flatten it. As. II, 7, 39 ; Troll. II, 1, 43. 

bitumed. Smeared with bitumen. Per. 
Ill, 1, 72. 

blaze. To publish; to proclaim. Rom. 
Ill, 3, 151. cf. blazon. 

blood. 1. A high-spirited young man. 
John II, 1, 278 and 461 ; Caes. I, 2, 151. 
2. See witch. 

bloody flag. The signal of war. HV. I, 
2, 101 ; Cor. II, 1, 84. 

blue coats. The common dress of serving- 
men in Sh. time and long before. Dyce. 
Shr. IV, 1, 93. 

boar. See Catesby. 

bold=beating. Brow-beating. Wiv. II, 
2, 28. 

bonds. See word. 

bonny. Bonnie in the Fl. in As. II, 3, 
8. This word is generally defined as 
handsome ; fair ; beautiful. But it is 
also considered synonymous with pretty; 
now, a "pretty" man in Scotch does 
not mean beautiful, but strong, and it 
is quite probable that bonnie has that 
meaning in the passage quoted (the 
bonnie priser of the humorous duke), 
just as "merry" men, in the old 
English ballads, did not mean jolly 
fellows, but strong, stout fightez's. 

The word has given a good deal of 
trouble to the corns. , as may be seen in 
the 3rd Var., Pui'ness, Rolfe and others. 
Emendations have been suggested, but 
to me it seems certain that Sh. used 
the word in the old Scottish sense of 
' ' pretty ' ' or strong. 

book. Learning ; scholarship. 2HVI. IV, 
7, 76. This is the meaning usually given 
to this word in this passage, but its 
accuracy is doubtful. See quarrel. 

boot. The expression, Grace to boot 
(As. I, 2, 80), evidently means, " Grace 
be my help," as in the saying, "St. 
George to boot," i.e., St. George be our 
help. 

boot = hose. Stocking - hose or spatter- 
dashes. Shr. Ill, 2, 68. 

bosom. Love ; affection. Lr. I, 1, 275. 

box=tree. The box-tree mentioned by 
Maria in Tw. II, 5, 18, was evidently a 



piece of topiary work, an art in which 
European gardeners were very skilful. 
The box-tree lent itself very readily to 
this art, and no doubt one or more 
trees, planted close together, had been 
so trained and cut as to form a 
rustic arbor or cabin in which two or 
three persons could easily hide. Dr. 
Purness (New Var,, Twelfth Night, p. 
206) says that box- tree here "means 
a hedge," but I think this is scarcely 
the proper term to apply to it. Maria 
would hardly have told the two knights 
and Fabian to get " into " a hedge ; if 
the box-trees had formed a hedge she 
would have told them to get behind it. 

brach. In Troil. II, 1, 126, the Folios and 
Quarto read brooch, which was changed 
to brach by Rowe and to brock by 
Malone. Brach, that is, a dog or hound 
following at the heels of Achilles, seems 
to be the most natural. Brock (a badger) 
has no pertinency, and where Malone 
got the meaning of "fop'.' for brock it 
is difficult to imagine. Johnson adopts 
brach as the reading of his text, but in 
regard to brooch says: "Brooch is an 
appendant ornament. The meaning may 
be, equivalent to one of Achilles'^s 
hangers on.'''' This may satisfy the 
sticklers for "the original text." 

bravery. In the g. a. text this word 
occurs in 0th. 1, 1, 100. Upon malicious 
bravery dost thou come To start my 
quiet. This is the reading of the 
Qq. The FP. read knavery instead of 
bravery, and it seems to me that this 
makes better sense. The Clarkes ex- 
plain it as : " Urged by a malicioiis 
desire to brave me." 

As it occurs in Cym. Ill, 1, 18, the 
natural bravery of your isle, Schm., 
followed, of course, by most subsequent 
coms., explains it as "a state of defi- 
ance." But the usual meaning of the 
expression, that is to say, courage, 
gives a much better sense. The defence 
of the isle was the courage of its in- 
habitants and its natural advantages. 
Evans suggests " splendour," which 
seems to me to be a forced interpretation. 



BRA 



392 



CAN 



brawn. A mass of flesh. The connection 
of this word with the boar's flesh is 
merely accidental. IHIV. II, 4, 123; 
2HIV. I, 1, 19. 

brazed. Hardened. Lr, I, 1, 11; Hml. 
Ill, 4, 37. 

bred and born. This expression occurs 
in Tw. 1, 2, 22, and has given no trouble, 
though it reverses the usual sequence 
"born and bred." But an apparently- 
corresponding passage in As. Ill, 5, 7, 
he that dies and lives by bloody drops ^ 
has called forth pages of annotation. 
See die in these Addenda. 

breed. Progeny ; offspring. Used figur- 
atively for interest on money in Merch. 
I, 3, 135. 

broker. A go-between, frequently in a 
vile sense. Compl. 173 ; John II, 1, 568 
and 582. White says that it was not 
until the last ten years of the seventeenth 
century that the word was advanced to 
the honor of a connection with stock 
operations. 

brooded. This word, as it occurs in John 
III, 3, 52, is generally explained as 
brooding, that is, vigilant as a bird 
with a brood of young to care for. For 
the active use of passive participles, see 
Sh. Gram., §374. Pope changed 6roode(i 
to broad-ey''d, and certainly there are 
strong grounds for the emendment, but 
the rule is imperative that no change 
shall be made where a passable mean- 
ing can be derived from the original. 

bucklers. To "give the bucklers" was 
to acknowledge defeat. Ado. V, 2, 17. 
cf. vice. 

bulk. This reading in 0th. V, 1, 1, has 
been generally accepted as meaning a 
projecting part of a building. In the 
PI, it reads barke. Singer says: "I 
feel assured that balke was intended, 
and not bulk. Palsgrave renders that 
word by pouste [a variant of post?] 
and Huloet defines it, ' the chief beanie 
or piller ot sl house.'" The word still 
survives in the Scottish "bank," and 
certainly is more appropriate here than 
bulk. 

burthen. ' ' The burthen of a song, in the 



old acceptation of the word, was the 
base, foot or under-song. It was sung 
throughout, and not merely at the end 
of a verse. * * * Many of these 
burthens were short, proverbial expres- 
sions, such as Tis merry in hall when 
beards wag all. Other burthens were 
mere nonsense, words that went glibly 
off the tongue, giving the accent of the 
music, such as hey nonny, nonny no ; 
hey derry down. ''^ Chapell. "Popular 
Music of the Olden Time." Tp. I, 2, 
381 ; Wint. IV, 4, 195. 

burial. See funeral. 

but. "But, in the sense of except, fre- 
quently follows negative comparatives, 
where we should use than. " Sh. Gram. , 
§127. Mcb. V, 8, 42; Hml. I, 1, 108; 
0th. I, 1, 126. 

button. The very butcher of a silk 
button (Rom. II, 4, 24), that is to say, 
one who can direct the point of his 
rapier to a button's breadth. Staunton 
quotes Silver, "Paradoxes of Defence" 
(1599): "Signior Rocca * * * thou 
that takest upon thee to hit anie English- 
man with a thrust upon anie button." 

buzz. Idle, vague rumor. Lr. I, 4, 348. 
Compare Hml. IV, 5, 90 : buzzers to 
infect his ear; also Chapman, The 
Widow^s Tears, II, 1, Shepherd, Works, 
1874, p. 315 (a): "Think 'twas but a 
buzz devised by him to set your brains 
a- work. ' ' Craig. 

by and by. Immediately; presently, as 
often in Sh. Rom. V, 3, 284. Dowden. 
Not, after a considerable time, as it now 
generally means with us. 



CABINET. This word in Ven. 854 means 
a nest; in Lucr. 442 it means the 
heart. 
cakes and ale. See virtuous. 
call. The exj^ression in John III, 4, 174, 
they would be as a call, is an image 
taken from the manner in which birds 
are sometimes caught ; one being placed 
for the purpose of drawing others to 
the net by his note or call. Malone. 
Cancer. The crab ; the sign in the zodiac 



CAN 



39.^ 



CAT 



which the sun enters at the summer 
solstice. Hence, add tnore coals to 
Cancer (Troll. II, 3, 206) = increase the 
heat of summer. The same thought is 
expressed by Thomson in his " Seasons ' ' : 
And Cancer reddens with the solar 
blaze. 
Hyperion is Apollo or the sun-god. See 
Hyperion. 

Candy. Candia, now Crete. Tw. V, 1, 64. 

candles of the night. The stars. Merch. 
V, 1, 220; Rom. Ill, 5, 9 ; Mcb. II, 1, 5. 

canis. Latin for dog. LLL. V, 2, 598. 

cap. The expression, wear his cap with 
suspicion (Ado. I, 1, 200) is thus ex- 
plained by Johnson: "That is, subject 
his head to the disquiet of jealousy." 
But the meaning evidently is that a 
married man cannot wear his cap with- 
out being suspected of using it to cover 
his horns— the emblems of cuckoldom. 

In Painter's "Palace of Pleasure," 
p. 238, we find: "All they that weare 
homes be pai'doned to weare their 
cappes upon their heads." And see 
0th. II, 1, 316 ; and 3rd Var., Vol. VII, 
p. 191. 

capable. In reference to the passage 
in Lr. II, 1, 86, Fll wor^k the means 
To make thee callable, Lord Camp- 
bell says : " In forensic discussions re- 
specting legitimacy, the question is put, 
whether the individual whose status is 
to be determined is 'capable,' i. e., 
capable of inheriting ; but it is only a 
lawyer who would express the idea of 
legitimising a natural son by simply 
saying: 'I'll work the means to make 
him capable.'" "Shakespeare's Legal 
Acquirements," p. 80. 

Capitol. In Hitil. Ill, 2, 109, Polonius 
says : Iivas killed V the Capitol. This 
error as to the place of Caesar's death 
appears in Chaucer, Monkes Tale, and 
in Sh. Julius Ccesar. So Fletcher, The 
Noble Gentleman., V, 1. Dowden. " It 
may be just noticed,, as the historical 
fact, that the meeting of the Senate at 
which Caesar was assassinated was held, 
not, as is here assumed, in the Capitol, 
but in the Curia in which the statue of 



Pompey stood, being, as Plutarch tells 
us, one of the edifices which Pompey 
had built and had given, along with his 
famous Theatre, to the public. ' ' Craik's 
"English of Shakespeare," p. 224. 

card. Various explanations have been 
given of the phrase we must speak by 
the card (Hml. V, 1, 149), but all seem 
rather far-fetched. The obvious mean- 
ing is : We must speak with precision, 
but whence derived we know not. 

carry. See coals. 

cart. The pun upon court and cart in 
Shr. I, 1, 55, is an allusion to a common 
punishment for scolds, which consisted 
in drawing them about the town in a 
rough cart and on a very uncomfortable 
seat. 

careful. Anxious ; full of care. HV. IV, 
1,248. 

cased. The expression, a cased Hon., as 
it reads in the Fi., in John III, 1, 259, 
was emended to chafed Hon by Theo- 
bald, and this is the reading in the g. a. 
text, though some eds. retain cased. 
The meaning of chafed is quite obvious ; 
cased has been explained as concealed, 
but this is not quite as forcible as chafed. 

cat. The cat occupies such a prominent 
place in the folk-lore as well as the 
daily life of most peoples that it is no 
wonder that frequent reference is made 
to it by Sh. Most of these references, 
however, require no comment. Hang 
me in a bottle like a cat and shoot at 
me (Ado. I, 1, 259) has been explained 
in various ways. Steevens tells us that 
it was once a practice to enclose a cat, 
with a quantity of soot, in a wooden 
bottle (such as that in which shepherd's 
carry their liquor) and suspend it on a 
line. He who beat out the bottom as 
he ran under it, and was nimble enough 
to escape the contents was regarded as 
the hero of this inhuman invention. 
This, however, is one of Steevens's far- 
fetched explanations, and it seems to 
me that it does not quite meet the case. 
That it was a common practice to shoot 
at cats and at images of cats numerous 
references in the literature of the six- 



CAT! 



394 



CHA 



teenth and seventeenth centuries show, 
but of the details we are ignorant. 

Pur ! the cat is gray. Lr. Ill, 6, 47. 
An allusion, no doubt, to the relation 
of witches and fiends to cats. Malone 
thinks that Pur may be a fiend ; it is 
the name of one of the devils mentioned 
by Harsnet. See Graymalkin and tail. 
A part to tear a cat in (Mids. I, 2, 32), 
is supposed by some to be a burlesque 
upon the killing of the lion by Hercules. 
See brinded and prince of cats. 

cause. The passage in 0th. V, 2, 1, It is 
the cause, it is the cause my soul, has 
baffled all the coms. The reader will 
find the most complete discussion of the 
subject in "The Henry Irving Shake- 
speare," Vol. VI, p. 104, in a note by 
Marshall, too long to transfer to these 
pages and which it would be difiicult to 
abridge satisfactorily. 

Centaurs. The word literally means bull- 
killers, and the name was first applied 
to a rude and savage race of men who 
inhabited the mountains of Thessaly, 
and whose chief pastime and means of 
subsistence was the hunting of wild 
cattle. In later writers they are de- 
scribed as monsters whose bodies were 
partly human and partly those of horses, 
and it has been suggested that as they 
spent the greater part of their lives on 
horse-back they may, at some early 
period, have made upon their neighbor- 
ing tribes the same impression as the 
Spaniards did upon the Mexicans, 
namely, that man and horse were one 
being. The Centaurs are particularly 
celebrated in ancient story for their 
fight with the Lapithse, which arose at 
the marriage-feast of Pirithous. Tit. 
V, 2, 204. On this occasion a Centaur, 
named Eurytus, becoming heated with 
wine, tried to carry off the bride, Hip- 
podamia. Thereupon, the other Centaurs 
made similar attempts on other women, 
and a fierce fight ensued. The Lapithae 
overcame the Centaurs, killed many of 
them, and drove the rest from their 
country, compelling them to take refuge 
on Mount Pindus, on the frontiers of 



Epeirus. This fight is sometimes put in 
connection with a combat of Hercules 
and the Centaurs, and it is to this that 
Theseus alludes in Mids. V, 1, 44, et seq. 
The two Centaurs who are best known 
by name are Cheiron, famous for his 
skill in hunting, medicine, music and 
the art of prophecy, and Nessus, who 
was killed by Hercules for attempting 
to carry off Deianira, and whose poison- 
ous blood caused the death of his slayer. 
There were also female Centaurs who 
are said to have been of great beauty, 
and perhaps it is to this that Lear 
alludes in Lr. IV, 6, 126. 

Cerberus. The many-headed dog that 
guarded the entrance of Hades, into 
which he admitted the shades, but never 
let them out again. Hesiod, who is the 
first that gives his name and origin, 
calls him fifty-headed, but later writers 
describe him as a monster with only 
three heads, with the tail of a serpent 
and a mane consisting of the heads of 
various snakes. The place where he 
kept watch was, according to some, at 
the mouth of the Acheron, and accord- 
ing to others, at the gates of Hades. 
Cerberus is referred to thrice in the 
plays, viz., LLL. V, 2, 593 ; Troil. II, 1, 
37, and Tit. II, 4, 51. Pistol's "King 
Cerberus" (2HIV. II, 4, 182), is, of 
course, one of his senseless and bom- 
bastic utterances. 

chamber. See tavern. 

chambermaid. Referring to Maria in T w. 
I, 3, 54, Furness says: "Let not the 
modern humble duties of making beds, 
airing rooms, etc. , be imputed to Maria, 
who stood in relation to Olivia as a 
companion and as an assistant at the 
toilet. In I, 5, 172, Olivia calls her ' my 
Gentlewoman,' and Malvolio immedi- 
ately responds by summoning her as 
'Gentlewoman.' * * * in tiie end, 
she marries Sir Toby. " 

Nerissa also, Portia's maid, is her 
companion, and marries Gratiano, the 
companion of Portia's lover and hus- 
band. Merch. Ill, 2, 200. 
See waiting-woman. 



CHA 



395 



CIB 



changes. In the g. a. text the line Oth. 
I, 1, 72, reads : Yet throw such changes 
of vexation on''t. This is the reading 
of the Qq.; the FF., with Rowe, Knight, 
Staunton and a few others, read chances 
instead of c/iangres. Fur ness says : "I 
think ' chances ' mean here simply pos- 
sibilities of vexation, which might dis- 
color Othello's joy. To read changes 
of vexation (with the Qq.) renders the 
contingency of ' may lose ' superfluous. 
A change of vexation could hardly fail 
to make his joy lose color." 

charge. Value or importance. Wint. 
IV, 4, 261 ; Rom. V, 2, 18. 

Charlemain. See pen. ^ 

Charon. The name of the aged and 
dirty ferryman who conveyed in his 
boat the shades of the dead across 
the rivers of the lower world. He 
carried only those whose bodies had 
been properly buried, the others being 
compelled to wait for one hundred years 
before they could pass to their final 
rest. For this service he was paid by 
each shade with an obolus or danace, 
which coin was placed in the mouth of 
every dead body previous to its burial. 
Charon is the ferryman referred to in 
RIII. I, 4, 46. His name occurs in 
Troil. Ill, 3, 1 1. 

Charybdis. See Scylla. 

cheat. See silly cheat. 

cheer. As this word occurs in Hml. Ill, 
2, 229, it is usually explained as fare or 
food. But Steevens says: "I believe 
we should read anchor's chair. So, in 
the second satire of Hall's fourth book, 
ed. 1602, p. 18 : 

Sit seven yeres pining in an anchores 

cheyre, 
To win some parched shreds of mini- 
vere." 
The word scope in the context supports 
this interpretaticm. 
child=changed. Three explanations have 
been given of this word as it occurs in 
Lr. IV, 7, 17 : (a) Changed to a child ; 
made imbecile. Steevens, Henley, Ab- 
bott, (b) Changed by the conduct of his 
children. Malone, Halliwell. As simi- 



larly formed words, Malone cites care- 
crazed or crazed by care, and wave- 
xvorn^ i.e., worn by the waves, (c) 
Delius suggests that it may mean that 
he has exchanged children, i.e., he has 
left Regan and Goneril and come to 
Cordelia. A fourth explanation might be 
suggested: changed towards his child. 
Cordelia was at one time his favorite, 
but he had cast her off — was changed 
towards her, his child. As this was the 
great sorrow of Cordelia's life, it is 
most likely that it would be this that 
would be present in her thoughts and 
find expression in her language ; she 
would pray that he might be restored 
to his right senses and so turned towards 
her again. 

chop=logic. "To chop is to barter, give 
in exchange ; to chop-logic, to exchange 
or bandy logic ; a chop-logic is a con- 
tentious sophistical arguer. Awdelay, 
Fraternity e of Vacabondes (1561), p. 
15, New Sh. Soc. reprint: 'Choplogyke 
is he that when his master rebuketh 
him of his fault he wyll geve him xx 
words for one. ' " Dowden. Rom. Ill, 
5, 150. 

chough. The jack-daw. Mids. Ill, 2, 
21. See russet-pated. 

Circe. A famous sorceress or enchantress 
who was a daughter of Helios or the 
Sun, by the ocean nymph Perse. Having 
murdered her husband, the prince of 
Colchis, she was expelled by her subjects 
and placed by her father on the solitary 
island of -^aea, on the coast of Italy. 
By the power of magic potions she was 
able to turn men into various kinds of 
animals, and when Ulysses visited her 
island she turned his companions into 
swine, but Mercury came to the aid of 
the hero and gave him an herb called 
Moly, which not only enabled him to 
resist her spells, but to gain her love. 
Having compelled her to restore his 
companions to their proper shapes, 
Ulysses remained some time on her 
island, and it is said that she bore him 
two sons, Agrius and Telegonus, and 
that in after years he was slain by the 



CIV 



396 



COA 



latter. See Ulysses. At length, when 
he wished to leave her, she prevailed 
upon him to descend into the lower 
world to consult the prophet Teiresias, 
who warned him of the dangers that he 
would encounter and advised him how 
to meet them. 

Circe is referred to twice in the plays, 
viz., IHVI. V, 3, 34, and Err. V, 1, 270. 

civil. Grave ; sober. Tw. Ill, 4, 5 ; E,om. 
Ill, 2, 10. See orange. 

cliff. 1. A clef or key. Troil. V, 2, 11. 
A variant of clef. 
2. A steep rock; a precipice. Lr. IV, 
1, 76. 

"The cliff now known as Shake- 
speare'^s Cliff is just outside of the town 
of Dover, to the southwest. It has been 
somewhat diminished in height by fre- 
quent landslips, but is still about 350 
feet high. The surge still chafes against 
the pebbles, and the samphire-gatherer 
is still let down in a basket to pursue 
his perilous trade ; but the cliff is not 
so perpendicular, nor do objects below 
seem so small as one would infer from 
the poet's description. Probably he did 
not mean to give a picture of this par- 
ticular cliff, but delineated one ' in his 
mind's eye ' and more or less ideal. 
The South-Eastern Railway now runs 
through the Dover Cliff in a tunnel 
1,331 yards long. ' ' Rolfe. 

Edgar, in describing the cliff to his 
father, evidently meant to create a deep 
impression on the old man ; it would be 
natural to expect that he would ex- 
aggerate a good deal. 

cloistress. A nun. Tw. I, 1, 28. 

close. To come to an agreement. Meas. 
V, 1, 346 ; Wint. IV, 4, 830; Cses. Ill, 
1, 202 ; Hml. II, 1, 45. 

** Clubs." The cry formerly used to call 
forth the London apprentices, who were 
supposed to employ their clubs for the 
preservation of the public peace, al- 
though it probably as often happened 
that they were used to create a disturb- 
ance, as in HVIII. V, 4, 53. Malone 
tells us that it appears from many of 
our old dramas that in Sh. time it was 



a common custom on the breaking out 
of a fray to cry, "Clubs, clubs," to 
part the combatants. Rom. I, 1, 80. 

coals. The phrase, we''ll not carry coals 
(Rom. 1, 1, 1), is thus explained by Nares: 
"To put up with insults; to submit to 
any degradation. The origin of the 
phrase is this : that in every family the 
scullions, the turnspits, the carriers of 
wood and coals, were esteemed the very 
lowest of menials. The latter, in par- 
ticular, were the set^vi servorutn, the 
drudges of all the rest." Hence, the 
origin of the term black-guard, which 
Nares says was "originally a jocular 
name given to the lowest menials of the 
court. " Ben Jonson, in his Every Man 
out of his Humour, makes Puntarvolo 
say: "See here comes one that will 
carry coals, ergo will hold my dog." 

coats. The passage in Mids. Ill, 2, 213 : 

So with two seeming bodies, but one 

heart ; 
Two of the first, like coats in heraldry, 

has given rise to some comment. The 
Fl. has the word life instead of like; 
this was altered by Theobald, at the 
suggestion of Folkes, and accepted by 
most subsequent eds. Wright explains 
the passage as follows : ' ' Shakespeare 
borrows the language of heraldry, in 
which, when a tincture has been once 
mentioned in the description of a coat 
of arms, it is always afterwards referred 
to according to the order in which it 
occurs in the description ; and a charge 
is accordingly said to be of the ' first ' 
'of the second,' etc., if its tincture be 
the same as that of the field which is 
always mentioned first, or as that of 
the second or any other that has been 
specified. Hence Douce's explanation 
is the correct one [See his ' Illustrations,' 
p. 120, ed. of 1839]: Helen says, 'we 
had two seeming bodies but only one 
heart. ' She then exemplifies her posi- 
tion by a simile — ' we had two of the 
first, i.e., bodies, like the double coats 
in heraldry that belong to man and 
wife as one person, but which, like our 
single heart, have but one crest.' " 



coc 



897 



COTI 



cock. The following additional notes 
may be of interest to some beginners : 

4. While the word, when used alone, is 
generally applied to the male of the 
barnyard fowl, it sometimes means the 
woodcock, as in Wint. IV, 3, 36. See 
woodcock. 

5. A pert young man. As. II, 7, 89. 

6. The crowing of the cock in the morn- 
ing. IHIV. II, 1, 20 ; Mcb. II, 3, 27. 

7. A faucet or spigot. Tim. II, 2, 171. 
PistoVs cock is up (HV. II, 1, 55), 

means that the hammer or cock of his 
fire-lock is raised ready for firing. The 
hammer was called a cock because it 
was originally made in the form of a 
cock's head. 
cock=a=hoop. The source of this phrase 
is obscure. Coles, in his Diet., gives 
two origins : " At the height of mirth 
and jollity; the cock or spigot being 
laid on the hoop, and the barrel of ale 
stumed, as they say in Staffordshire, 
that is, drank out without intermission. 
Or else coq-a-hupe, a cock with a cop, 
crest or comb." 
Colchis, ) The country of the golden 
Colchos. ) fleece. Merch. I, 1, 171. See 

Jason. 
cold. Chaste ; modest. Hml. IV, 7, 172. 
colleagued. In collusion with ; allied to. 

Hml. 1,2,21. 
colours. The expression, fear no colours 
(Tw. I, 5, 6), probably means to fear no 
enemy. 
colourable colours. Specious appearances. 

LLL. IV, 2, 156. 

comfortable. Strengthening ; supporting. 

Rom. V, 8, 148, Used as often in the 

active sense, cf. AlFs. 1, 1, 86. Dowden. 

commodity. Advantage ; gain, John II. 

1, 573 ; 2HIV, I, 2, 278; Lr. IV, 1, 23. 
companion. Fellow. Mids, I, 1, 15. The 
words companion and fellow have com- 
pletely changed their meanings in later 
usage. Companion is not now used 
contemptuously as it once was, and as 
fellow frequently is. cf. 2HI V. II, 4, 132. 
conceal. Simple's blunder for reveal. 

Wiv. IV, 5, 45. 
c;onQealed wells. Steevens explained this 



phrase, as it occurs in John V, 2, 139, 
as " wells in concealed or obscure situa- 
tions ; viz., in places secured from, 
public notice.'''' Malonesays: "I believe 
our author, %ith his accustomed license, 
used concealed for concealing; wells 
that afforded concealment and protec- 
tion to those who took refuge there." 
Rolfe accepts Steevens's gloss, but I 
think Malone gives the right meaning. 
Wells are not often placed in concealed 
situations; there is generally a pretty 
plain path leading to them. For the 
use of concealed for concealing see 
becomed and Sh. Gram., §374, 
conduce. Evidently used in a peculiar 
sense in Troil. V, 2, 147, Sometimes ex- 
plained as " to commence ' ' ; others para- 
phrase the passage as : A battle is joined ; 
the opposing forces are brought together. 
constant=qualified. In Cym. I, 4, 65, 
these words appear as a compound in 
most modern eds.— the "Cambridge," 
the "Globe," Rolfe, Knight, W^hite, 
Dyce, etc, Delius, Ingleby, " The Henry 
Irving Shakespeare," and a few others 
follow the Polio, in which the reading is 
" Constant, Qualified. " In Capell's ed,, 
1768, subsequent to Pope, Warburton, 
Theobald and Johnson, the comma was 
changed to a hyphen, greatly to the 
detriment of the passage, Steevens 
adopted the corruption and has been 
followed by most eds., the definition 
' ' faithful ' ' being given to the compound 
word. But ' ' constant ' ' of itself means 
faithful, and "qualified " is an additional 
praise- word for which Dr, Ingleby has 
given abundant authority in his edition 
of Cymbeline. See qualified. 
convicted. Some corns, have thought that 
this word, as it occurs in John III, 4, 2, 
is a misprint, but Malone shows that it 
was in use in the time of Sh, in the 
sense of overcome. See Minsheu's Diet, 
(1617) : " To convict or convince, a Lat. 
convictus, overcome." Recent coms. 
attribute this definition to Schmidt, 
couragious. O most couragious day! 
Mids. IV, 2, 27. " It is not worth while 
to guess what Quince intended to say. 



COTT 



^9S 



ORE 



He used the first long word that occurred 
to him without reference to its meaning, 
a practice which is not yet altogether 
extinct." W. A. Wright. 

counter°sealed. Sealed in dftplicate. Cor. 
V, 3, 205. 

couplement. 1. A pair. LLL. V, 2, 535. 
2. A union. Sonn. XXI, 5. 

course. A relay of dogs set on a baited 
bear. Lr. Ill, 7, 57 ; Mcb. V, 7, 2. So 
in Brome, Anti'podes : " You shall see 
two ten-dog courses at the great bear, 
i.e., two successive attacks of ten dogs. " 
Craig. 

courtesy. The phrase, remember thy 
courtesy (LLL. V, 1, 103), means : " Re- 
member that you have already complied 
with the requirement of courtesy; so 
cover your head." Doivden. c/. Hml. 
V, 2, 108. 

courtship. As it occurs in Rom. Ill, 3, 
34 = the state of a courtier permitted 
to approach the highest presence. John- 
son. Or, familiarity with courts, c/. 
As. Ill, 2, 364, where there is a pun 
upon the two meanings of courtshii^. 

coverture. Cover ; shelter. Ado. Ill, 1, 
30. In Cor. I, 9, 46, the word overture 
of the FF. was changed by Tyrwhitt to 
coverture, meaning cover. 

crack, v. IJsually defined as to brag ; to 
boast. Skeat gives ^^ crake, to boast, 
an obsolescent word." That it implies 
boasting in many cases is no doubt true, 
but it is probable that with Sh. it also 
had the modern Scottish meaning of to 
talk, as in the old song : 
Sit ye doun here, my cronies, and gie 

us your crack; 
Let the win' tak' the care o' this life 

on its back. 
In Cym. V, 5, 177, the boasting lies 
in the word brags rather than in 

"crack'd": 

Our brags 
Wei'e crack'd [or spoken] of kitchen 
trulls. 
And so a cracker, in John II, 1, 147, 
may mean simply a talker — one who 
says much and does little. 

See the N. E. D. for a very complete 
discussion of this word. 



craft, V. To make nice work. Cor. IV, 

6, 118. 
crants. For this word, as found in 
Quartos 2, 3, 4, 5, in Hml. V, 1, 255, the 
FF. substituted Rites, and Johnson 
makes this attempt to explain the 
change : " I have been informed by an 
anonymous correspondent that crants 
is the German word for garlands, and 
I suppose it was retained by us from 
the Saxons. To carry garlands before 
the bier of a maiden, and to hang them 
over her grave, is still the practice in 
rural parishes. 

" Grants, therefore, was the original 
word, which the authour, discovering it 
to be provincial, and perhaps not under- 
stood, changed to a term more intelligible 
bat less proper.'' 

But although the word is generally 
supposed to be a German expression, it 
seems to have been in use by the Scot- 
tish writers and, therefore, was probably 
familiar to Sh. Jamieson, in his " Ety- 
mological Dictionary of the Scottish 
Language," quotes from "A Choice 
Collection of Comic and Serious Poems," 
by James Watson (1706), II, 10 : 
Thair heids wer garnisht gallandlie 

With costly crancis maid of gold. 

Nares says the word is German " and 
probably also Danish, as Rosencrantz, 
Rosy-garland, is the name of a character 
in the same play. * * * But how 
Shakespeare came to introduce a word 
so very unusual in our language, has 
not yet been accounted for ; probably 
he found it in some legend of Hamlet. 
No other example has been found." 

Elze, however, has found two instances 
of its use in Chapman's Alphonsus, so 
that whether its etymological origin 
was old Dutch (Skeat) or German it 
seems to have been a regularly natural- 
ized word. 
Cressida was a beggar. Theobald, in a 
note on Tw. Ill, 1, 61, says: "The Poet 
in this circumstance undoubtedly had 
his eye on Chaucer's [?] Testament of 
Cressid. Cupid, to revenge her pro- 
fanation against his Deity, calls in: the 



CEE 



399 



CRO 



Planetary gods to assist in his vengeance. 
They instantly turn her mirth into 
melancholy, her health into sickness, 
her beauty into deformity and in the 
end pronounce this sentence upon her : 

This sail thow go begging fra hous to 

hous, 
With cop and clapper lyke ane lazar- 

ous." 

"The Testament of Cresseid," which 
was once attributed to Chaucer, is not 
to be found in recent editions of his 
works. Wright says that it really was 
the work of Robert Henryson. 

There is another allusion to the same 
tradition in HV. II, 1, 80. 

Cressid's uncle. Pandarus. All's. II, 1, 
100. See Pandarus. 

Crete. The "desperate sire of Crete" 
referred to in IHVI. IV, 6, 54, is Daeda- 
lus, father of Icarus. See Dcedalus. 

crocodile. The passage in 0th. IV, 1, 
257: 

If that the earth could teem with 

woman's tears, 
Each drop she falls would prove a 

crocodile, 

refers to what was known as the doctrine 
of "equivocal generation," by which 
was meant that animals were produced 
without any parentage, simply by the 
generative power of various kinds of 
matter acted upon by heat and moisture. 
Thus, Virgil tells us that bees may be pro- 
duced from a dead carcass, and he gives 
special directions for doing it, though no 
one has ever succeeded. Worms, too, 
were supposed to be generated in dead 
bodies without the access of flies. This 
doctrine is alluded to in Ant. II, 7, 29 : 
Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of 
your mud by the operation of your 
sun. It is only within a few years that 
this hypothesis, more recently known 
as "spontaneous generation, " has been 
entirely rejected. Othello says that if 
a woman's tears, acting on the earth, 
could produce [teem or bring forth] any 
animal, it would be a crocodile. It 
seems that in Sh. time a dead crocodile 
about nine feet long was exhibited iu 



London, and the general idea in regard 
to the animal, as expressed by BuUokar 
in his "English Expositor" (1616), was 
that "he will weep over a man's head 
when he hath devoured the body, and 
then will eat up the head too. W here- 
fore in Latin there is a proverbe, croco- 
dili lachrymcB, crocodile's tears, to 
signify such tears as are fained and 
spent only with intent to deceive, or 
doe harm. ' ' This supposed characteristic 
is referred to in 2HVI. Ill, 1, 236. 
crop. This word, as it occurs in Cym. I, 
6,* 33, has received various definitions. 
Warburton says : He is here speaking 
of the covering of sea and land, and 
therefore wrote, and the rich cope. 
Steevens derides this emendation and 
says : " The crop of sea and land means 
only the productions of either element. " 
In this he is followed by most coms., 
Schm., Rolfe, Gollancz, etc. White has 
the following note (Riverside Ed.) : 
"This speech is meant to be extrava- 
gant ; and Sh. falls into his most re- 
motely suggestive style ; the rich crop 
of sea and land = all the products of 
the earth." 

None of these explanations seems to 
be entirely satisfactory. The original 
sense of crop seems to have been that 
which sticks up or out, a protuberance, 
bunch, Skeat. Thus we speak of the 
out-cropping of rocks. It seems to me, 
therefore, that Ingleby's explanation 
comes most nearly to what is meant : 
"The crop, or out-crop, is that which 
strikes the eye. It might, however, be 
contended with some show of probability 
that ' the rich crop ' is that vast treasury 
of pebbles which belongs almost as much 
to the sea as to the land. All other 

* This Scene is number 7 in the Fl., the 
3rd. Var. and several other eds., in which 
Scene 1 ends at line 69. Rowe combined 
Scenes 1 and 2, and thus made only six 
Scenes in the First Act. In this he has 
been followed by most modern eds., in- 
cluding the "Globe," ''"Cambridge," 
Dyce, White, Rolfe, etc. Dr. Ingleby, in 
his special ed. of this play follows the Fl, 



CBO 



400 



CYN 



interpretations may be safely discount- 
enanced. Those ' spectacles so precious, ' 
says the Italian, ' can do two very 
different things : can see the whole 
hemisphere of the heavens above and 
the vast compass of the sea and land 
beneath ; and also can distinguish be- 
tween any two objects, either in the 
heavens (as stars) or on the shore (as 
stones), which are, to a casual observer, 
so much alike that they might be taken 
for twins. It is curious and noteworthy 
that Johnson expressed himself unable 
to understand ' twiun'd stones.' " 

crow. The expression, the crying of your 
nation'' s crow (John V, 2, 14i), means 
the crowing of a cock ; gallUs meaning 
both a cock and a Frenchman. Douce. 

cry. The expression, cried in the top of 
mine (Hml. II, 2, 459), means greatly 
exceeded mine. For the passage, cry 
out on the top of question, see question. 

cruels. See subscribe. 

cuckoo=buds. The corns, are uncertain as 
to which plant Sti. refers by this name. 
Some species of ranunculus or crow-foot 
is probably meant. LLL. V, 2, 906. 

cue koo=f lowers. Probably the lady-smock 
or Cardaniine pratensis. Lr. I^^ 4, 4. 

cunnings. In the g. a. text, in Hml. IV, 
7, 156, the FF. read commings ; it is 
c^lnnings in Ql. Cunnings is explained 
as skill, as in II, 2, 461, same play. So 
Cambridge, G-lobe, Dyce, Furness, "The 
Henry Irving Sh.," Dowden, etc. Cal- 
decott, Knight and a few others adopt 
the reading of the Folios, commings, 
which they explain as "meeting in 
assault, bout, or pass at fence. " " Com- 
ming. Gall. Venue." Minsheu. Calde- 
cott also quotes from Cotgrave : " Venue 
f. A Commlng; also a venule in fenc- 
ing. " But this quotation does not apply ; 
Euclid's first axiom does not hold good 
here. Because venue = comming (so in 
Cot.) and venue = vennie in fencing, it 
does not follow that comming = vennie. 
TheN. E. D. does not give this definition 
of comming. So that it looks very much 
as if the word in the FF. was a mis- 
print, and that the g. a. text is right. 



curfew bell. The meaning and origin of 

this word is plain ; it was the evening 
signal for covering the fire. Its use 
in Rom. IV, 4, 4, has, however, given 
rise to many notes, an evening bell 
at three o'clock in the morning {foure 
a clocke in Ql.), having proved 
puzzling to many. White says that, 
to him, it is "inexplicable," and 
Ulrici thinks that old Capulet is so 
flurried that he does not know what he 
does or hears. But Professor Dowden, 
in his excellent ed. of this play, has the 
following note, which seems to me to 
fully explain the matter: "Strictly, 
this was an evening bell {couvre feu) 
rung at eight or nine o'clock. Shake- 
speare uses curfew correctly in Meas. 
IV, 2, 78. The word came to be used 
of other ringings. Thus, in Liverpool 
Municipal Records of 1673 and 1704 
(quoted in N. E. D.) : ' Ring Curphew 
all the yeare long at ^ a clock in the 
morning and at eight at a night. ' " 

curious. As it occurs in Lr. I, 4, 35, is 
thus explained by Craig : " Complicated, 
elaborate, opposed to plain. Schmidt 
explains, ' elegant, nice. ' Compare the 
sense of curiosity in North's Plutarch^s 
Lives (Tiberius and Caius), ed. 1597, 
p. 865 : ' Tiberius' words * * « being 
very proper and excellently applied, 
where Caius' words were full of fine- 
nesse and curiosity.' " 

curious=knotted. Laid out in fanciful 
plots. LLL. I, 1, 249. 

" The great feature of the Elizabethan 
garden [was] the formation of the 'curi- 
ous-knotted garden. ' Each of the large 
compartments was divided into a com- 
plication of ' knots,' by which was meant 
beds arranged in quaint patterns, formed 
by rule and compass with mathematical 
precision.'" Ellacombe. 

Cynthia's brow. In the lines in Rom. 
Ill, 5, 20 : 

I'll say yon grey is not the morning's 

eye, 
'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's 

brow, 

the word broiv was changed to 6o,w in 



BAM 



401 



DAM 



the Collier MS., and Singer, who was 
bitterly opposed to Collier, accepted the 
change on the ground that the correc- 
tion "is quite unexceptionable, as an 
easy amendment of an evident misprint, 
which I also find so corrected in my 
second folio." Singer's "The Text of 
Shakespeare Vindicated/' p. 2o3. 

Johnson explained the 2><^f'l& reflex 
thus: "The appearance of a cloud 
opposed to the moon." Rolfe explains 
it as "the pale light of the moon shining 
through or reflected from the breaking 
clouds," and adds : " the passage would 
seem to be clear enough without ex- 
planation, but some of the editors have 
done their best to obscure it." The 
word is broiv in all the old eds., and the 
Clarkes explain it very properly thus : 
Cynthia, or the moon (see Cynthia) "is 
classically represented with a crescent 
moon upon her forehead. It is the pale 
reflection of this ornament of Luna's, 
or Cynthia's, brow, therefore, that is 
here beautifully alluded to." 

All discussion of the astronomical or 
physical fitness of the expression or of 
the alleged scientific facts, is entirely 
out of place, because Romeo starts out 
with the assertion that he is "content " 
and will say that that which both Juliet 
and he know to be not so is so. 



DAM'D COLOUR'D. This word, which 
occux-s in Tw. I, 3, 144, was changed 
by Rowe to flame-coloured, and 
this is the reading in the g. a. text. But 
great doubt has been expressed as to its 
correctness. Damask-coloured, dun-col- 
oured, dove-coloured, ijane-coloured, 
damson-coloured, claret-coloured, etc., 
have all been suggested. Dam'd colour'd 
has been defended on the ground that 
couleur d''enfer was a recognised color 
in Sh. time. Cotgrave has: "Couleur 
d'enfer. as much as, Noir-brun en- 
fume," which, being translated into 
English, is : " Color of hell, as much as 
a smoky black-brown." [Couleur de 
del (heaven) was blue.] R. M. Spence, 



in " Notes and Queries," March 15, 1879, 
says: "Shakespeare would never have 
made a vain coxcomb like Sir Andrew 
show the good taste to choose so unpre- 
tending a color as black. By a 'dam'd 
colour'd stocke ' I understand checkered 
hose. To this day old people among the 
peasantry of Scotland [and young ones, 
too] speak of any checkered garment 
as being of the ' dam-brod, ' Anglicd^ 
"draught-board' pattern." He might 
have told the story of the London clerk 
who was horrified when a respectable 
old lady, with a very decided Scotch 
accent, asked for some dress goods of 

what he understood to be "ad d 

broad pattern. " Dam, here, has nothing 
to do with color, nor is it in the least pro- 
fane. It is the French word dame (pro- 
nounced dam) by which the "men" or 
pieces on the draught-board were known 
in Scotland; "dam," of itself, in this 
connection, would mean nothing. So 
that this explanation cannot be accepted. 
The word " brod " here is simply hoard 
with the r transposed, as is frequently 
done in Scottish or old English. See 
third. That the passage is corrupt is 
very probable. After an elaborate re- 
cital of what has been offered from time 
to time. Dr. Purness gives the following 
judicious summing up: "Rowe'semend- 
ation has the largest following; but 
then there are eminent critics who dis- 
pute it. There is such a difference, 
however, both to the eye and to the ear, 
between 'dam'd' and y?a?ne that, until 
some happier substitute be found, I 
think the text should remain undis- 
turbed ; and surely Sir Andrew's char- 
acter is not so exalted as to be seriously 
lowered by a little profanity." 

It would seem to be very certain, how- 
ever, that dani'd is not the word that 
Sh. wrote. It is true that Sir Andrew 
uses this word in III, 4, 313, and that in 
III, 4, 211, he brags thus : Nay, let me 
alone for swearing. But in every 
other passage his language is of the 
mildest kind, and his expletives scarcely 
rise to the dignity of oaths — certainly 



DAN 



402 



DEX 



they have not the characteristics and 
flavor of those "good mouth-filling 
oaths " which Hotspur desired to hear 
from his wife (IHIV. Ill, 1, 259). Is it 
possible that the word could have been 
Cain-colour'd ? Cain-colour was yellow 
(Wiv. I, 4, 23), or, perhaps, yellow with 
a slight tinge of red, a most absurd 
color for stockes or stockings, one ab- 
horred by Olivia, laughed at by Maria 
in the case of Malvolio, and therefore a 
most appropriate hue for the "foolish 
knight," Sir Andrew, upon whom Sh. 
so delighted to throw ridicule. 

Dan. The word "Dan," meaning Lord, 
is found several times in Chaucer. One 
instance occurs in Canterhury Tales, 
Wif of Bathes Tale (5617): Lo, here 
the wise King Dan Solomon. See Dan, 
ante. 

Dane. The King of Denmark as repre- 
sentative of the Danish people. Hnil. 

1, 1, 15, and I, 2, 44. See Milan. 
date=broke. Not paid when due. Tim. 

II, 2, 37. 

death^practised. Having his death in- 
tended. Lr. IV"', 6, 284. 

debonair. Courteous ; affable ; of pleasant 
manners. It is the French de bon air 
= of good air or carriage. Troil. I, 3, 
235. 

declension. Deterioration ; getting worse 
and worse. RIII. Ill, 7, 189; Hml. II, 

2, 149. 

deed. The saying in Lr. I, 1, 73, She 
names my very deed of love, is ex- 
plained by Wright as : " she exactly 
describes my love." Deed is sometimes 
equal to truth ; thus, in very deed = in 
very truth ; indeed = truly. Regan's 
speech may be paraphrased : She truly 
names my love. Deed of saying = the 
fulfilment of a promise. Tim. V, 1, 28. 

defeat. Destruction. Hml. V, 2, 58. 

definite. Positive ; certain. Cym. 1, 6, 43. 

delated. Set forth in detail. Hml. I, 2, 
38. Dilated in the FF. 

descant. ' ' Since Malone's time, ' descant ' 
in this passage [Gent. I, 2, 94] has been 
most strangely interpreted to mean 
' variations, ' as of an air in music ; — a 



definition incorrect in itself andunsuited 
to the context. The word did come to 
be loosely and ignorantly used some- 
what in that sense ; but in Shakespeare's 
time it meant ' counterpoint ' or the 
adding one or moi'e parts to a theme, 
which was called the 'plain song.'" 
Wliite, 1st Ed. 
The word is used figuratively in RIII. 

I, 1, 27. 

descry. Discovery. The main descry 
Stands on the hourly thought =«= we 
expect every hour to see the main body 
approaching. Lr. IV, 6, 217. 

Desdemona's death. See So, so! 

desperate. Reckless. Desperate of shame 
and state = unattentivetohis character 
or his condition. Johnson. Tw. V, 1, 
67. Schm. makes sf a^e =" danger " ; 
Deighton thinks that " the point em- 
phasized seems to be his disreput- 
able character, not his recklessness of 
danger." Antonio himself has spoken 
of the danger which he ran, and said : 
It " shall seem sport." Tw. II, 1, 49. 

detect. To expose ; to disclose, 8HVI. 

II, 2, 143 ; RIII. I, 4, 141. 

The word detected, as it occurs in 
Meas. Ill, 2, 129, has been explained as 
suspected, but the meaning exposed or 
accused makes better sense. It is used 
in this sense in G-reen way's translation 
of "Tacitus" (1622). 
dexterity. This word occurs five times 
in the plays and in Lucr. 1389. The 
meaning which it bears in Lucr.; Wiv. 
IV, 5, 121 ; IHIV. II, 4, 286 ; Troil. V, 
5, 27, and Rom. Ill, 1, 168, is evidently 
adroitness or skill, and, as it occurs in 
Hml. I, 2, 157, Dowden explains it as 
"adroitness. " It strikes me that readi- 
ness gives a better meaning. 

In every instance Schm. makes it 
equal to "nimbleness." 

In Hml. I, 2, 157, " Walker suspects 
that Sh. wrote celerity; but elsewhere 
the idea of adroitness in the word seems 
to have suggested to Sh. that of quick- 
ness." Rolfe. In most of the passages 
in which "dexterity" occurs in Sh. the 
idea of celerity is expressed by another 



DRTJ 



403 



DIE 



word — quick or speed. Thus, Hamlet's 
speech is : O, most ivieked speed to post 
With such dexterity to incestuous 
sheets ! Dexterity here evidently means 
readiness. 

dies. The expression dies and lives by 
bloody drops (As. Ill, 5, 7) has drawn 
forth many comments and several 
emendations. If " bloodj- drops " be the 
means b)" which the executioner lives, 
it is difficult to see how he "dies" by 
them, consequently, deals ( Warburton), 
dyes (Johnson), dines (Collier) thrives 
(Hanmer), slays (Kinnear) and some 
others have been suggested as the true 
reading. Caldecott thinks dies here 
means kills, that being the means by 
which the executioner gets his lis'ing. 
Ingleby, in his " Hermeneutics," p. 59, 
adopts Dr. Sebastian Evans's paraphrase 
of the sentence: "A man's profession 
or calling by which he lives, and failing 
which he dies." Furness objects that 
"the felicitousness of the phrase blinds 
us to the fact that it does not explain 
the curious inversion of dying and 
living.''^ But this hysteron proteron 
(putting the cart before the horse) is 
not unusual in Sh. See Tw. I, 2, 22, 
bred and born. It seems to me that 
the difficulty lies not in the inversion so 
much as in the idea of a man's dying by 
that whereby he gets his living. Mus- 
grave's explanation is: "To die and 
live by a thing is to be constant to it, 
to persevere in it to the end " — a slight 
change in the meaning of the word by. 

diffidence. Suspicion ; distrust. John I, 
1. 65; IHVI. Ill, 3, 10: Lr. I, 2, 1(31. 

digressing. Varving ; deviating. Rom. 
Ill, 3, 127. 

diseases. This word, as used in Lr. I, 1, 
177, means discomforts, annoyances, 
dis-eases. It bears the same meaning 
in IHVI. II, 5, 44. cf. Tim. Ill, 1, 56, 
and Cor. I, 3, 117. See dis-eate. 

disgracious. Wanting grace; not pleasing. 
RIII. 111,7, 112. 

dishabited. Dislodged. John II, 1, 220. 

disorbed. Thrown out of its orbit or 
sphere. Troil. II, 2, 46. See sphere. 



dishonest. The reverse of honest. Honest 
in Sh. is frequently used for virtuous. 
HV. I, 2, 49; Hml. Ill, 1, 103 and 123. 
So dishonest — indecent. Wiv. Ill, 3, 
196; Tw. 1,5, 46. 
disposer. A w^ord of which the meaning, 
as it occurs in Troil. Ill, 1, 95, has never 
been settled. The whole passage is 
difficult, and emendations do not help 
much. See 3rd Var., Vol. VIII, p. 318, 
for a lengthened discussion. 

dispute. To discuss ; to reason about ; 
to consider. Rom. Ill, 3, 63 ; 0th. I, 
2, 75. 

disquantity. To lessen the quantity ; to 
diminish. Lr. I, 4, 270. 

ditcli=dog. Generally de&ied as a dead 
dog found in a ditch. I very much 
doubt this. More likely it is some of 
the "small deer"' of which we do not 
know the exact name. Lr. Ill, 4, 138. 

disproperty. The expression, Disproper- 
tied their freedoms (Cor. II, 1, 264), 
means to take away from their freedom 
all the properties w^hich make it really 
freedom. 

division. Arrangement; order. Ado. V, 
1, 230. 

doctor. A learned man ; not necessarily 
a physician. The etymological meaning 
of doctor is teacher. Ado. V, 1, 206. 

dog. See tvolf. 

dogged. Cruel; unfeeling. John IV, 1, 
129; 2HVI. Ill, 1, 158. 

dominical. By red dominical and goldeyi 
letter in LLL. V, 2, 44, Marshall thinks 
Rosaline means to refer to the "fashion- 
able " color of Katharine's hair. A very 
probable conclusion. 

door. See sweej). 

door=naiI. See nail. 

dove. Hee sucking. 

dread bolted. See thunder. 

dream, Althaea's. Sh. makes a mistake 
here. Alrhcea's fire-brand was a real 
one. It w^as Hecuba who, just before 
Paris was born, dreamed that she was 
delivered of a fire-brand. Bardolph's 
red nose and face leads the page to call 
him "Althaea's dream."'' 2HIV. II, 2, 
92. See Althcea and Paris. 



DRTT 



404 



EGL 



drug=damn'd. The allusion in Cym. Ill, 
4, 15, is to the notoriousness of Italian 
poisoning. Johnson, cf. Ill, 2, 5, of 
same play. 

dry. Empty ; a dry hand = a hand with 
no money or present in it. Tw. I, 3, 77. 
So, too, a dry fool = an empty fool. 
Tw. I, 5, 45. 

Johnson suggested that perhaps by 
dry in the first passage Maria meant to 
insinviate that it was not a lover's hand ; 
not the hand of an amorous person, and 
reference is made to 0th. Ill, 4, 44, in 
support of this contention. But it is 
not likely that Maria had any thought 
of Sir Andrew as a lover. Sir Toby 
was her bargain. See same Act and 
Scene, liQe 29, et seq. 

dry=beat. A blow that does not draw 
blood is a dry blow. The N. E. D. 
quotes Palsgrave, " Lesclarcissement, 
etc." (1530): "Bio, blewe and grene 
coloured, as ones bodie is after a dry 
stroke." LLL. V, 2, 263 ; Rom. IV, 5, 126. 

duer. More duly. 2HIV. Ill, 2, 330. 

dust. See sweep. 



EAR=KISSINQ. Whispered ; told with 
the speaker's lips touching the 
hearer's ear. The Quartos read ea?-- 
bussing, and Collier suggested that there 
might be a pun upon buzzing and btiss- 
ing. Lr. II, 1, 9. See buz. 

ears. The phrase, Oo shake your ears 
(Tw. II, 3, 134), is a common expression 
of contempt evidently implying that 
the ears of the person addressed are of 
assinine proportions. 

earth. 1. The passage in Rom. I, 2, 15, 
She is the hopeful lady of my earth, 
has been explained in various ways. 
Johnson suggested that the true reading 
is : She is the hope and stay of my 
full years ; Cartwright supposed that 
earth was a misprint for hearth, and 
other changes have been suggested. 
Steevens thought the expression a Gal- 
licism, fille de terre being the French 
phrase for an heiress. Mason explained 
earth as the body (see 2), and this has 



been accepted by several coms. ; and 
since to ear, q.v., means to plough, it 
has been claimed that earth here means 
ploughing, and this affords another in- 
terpretation, cf. Ant. II, 2, 233. The 
Clarkes say : " It is most likely that 
Capulet intends to include the sense of 
'she is my sole surviving offspring in 
whom I have centred all my hopes.'" 
2. In several passages the word means the 
human body. Sonn. CXLVI, 1 ; Rom. 
II, 1, 2, and III, 2, 59. In the old church- 
yard of Melrose Abbey, not far from 
our family bui'ial plot, is a tombstone 
with the following curious inscription : 

THE EARTH GOETH 
ON THE EARTH 
GLISTRING LIKE 

GOLD 
THE EARTH GOES TO 
THE EARTH SOONER 
THEN IT WOLD ; 
THE EARTH BUILDS 
ON THE EARTH CAST- 
LES AND TOWERS ; 
THE EARTH SAYS TO 
THE EARTH. ALL SHALL 

BE OURS. 

earthquake. Tyrwhitt conjectured that 
the earthquake referred to in Rom. I, 
3, 23, was that felt in England, April 
6, 1580, and he inferred that the play, 
or this part of it, was written in 1591. 
Malone pointed out that if we suppose 
that Juliet was weaned at a year old, 
she would be only twelve; but she is 
just fourteen. An earthquake happened 
at Verona 1348 (Knight) and at Verona 
1570 (Hunter) ; an account of the Italian 
earthquakes of 1570 was printed in Lon- 
don (Staunton). Collier says: "In the 
whole speech of the Nurse there are 
such discrepancies as render it impossible 
to arrive at any definite conclusion." 
Doivden. 

ecce signum. Behold the sign ; behold 
the proof. IHIV. II, 4, 187. 

eglantine. The sweetbriar. Noted for 
the delicious fragrance of its leaves, 



EGO 



405 



FAL 



especially when moistened with a gentle 

shower. Mids. II, 1, 252 ; Cym. IV, 2, 

223. 

Ego et Rex meus. Latin for I and my 

king. Holinshed says : "In all writings 

which he wrote to Rome, or any other 

foreign prince, he wrote Ego et Rex 

meus, I and my king ; as who should 

say that the king were his servant." 

" But, as Wolsey urged in his defence, 

this order was required by the Latin 

idiom." Rolfe. HVIIL III, 2, 314. 

encave. To hide. 0th. IV, 1, 82. 

ends. The expression, flout old ends 

(Ado. I, 1, 290), has called forth a good 

deal of comment. It was suggested by 

Capell that "old ends" meant the old 

and formal conclusions of letters as 

quoted in line 285. Deighton thinks 

that Benedick "merely says, with mock 

solemnity : ' Be careful how you ridicule 

things so venerable and sacred as these 

old ends. ' " 

enseamed. Soiled with grease. Seam is 

the fat of the hog. Hml. Ill, 4, 92. 
envious. Malicious. Rom. Ill, 1, 173. 
equinoctial. See Queuhus. 
equinox. This word, as it occurs in 0th. 
II, 3, 129, is explained by Schm. as 
" the equal length of the day and the 
night." This is not exactly the mean- 
ing of the word which is equal night 
not equal day and night, as is its usual 
application. Cassio's vice of drunken- 
ness was a night or dark spot equal to 
his virtue. Sh. uses the word here in 
its strictly etymological sense. 
Erebus. Tartarus; hell. Merch. V, 1, 

87 ; 2HIV. II, 4, 171 ; Cses. II, 1, 84. 
erection. Mrs. Quicklj^'s blunder for 

direction. Wiv. Ill, 5, 41. 
estimation, lo Reputation ; honor. Meas. 
IV, 2, 28 ; Gent. II, 4, 56 ; Err. Ill, 1, 102. 
2. Conjecture. IHIV. I, 3, 272. 
except, before excepted. Malone ex- 
plains this "phrase as being the usual 
language of leases: "To have and to 
hold the said demised premises, etc., 
with their and every of their rights, 
members, etc. {except before excepted) . ' ' 
Tw. I, 3, 9. Lord Campbell, in his 



" Shakespeare's Legal Acquirements," 
does not allude to this legal expression. 
A great deal has been written about it. 

execution. Employment ; exercise. 0th. 
Ill, 3, 467. cf. Troil. V, 7, 6. 

exposition. Bottom's blunder for dis- 
position. Mids. IV, 1, 43. 

eye of Phoebus. HV. IV, 1, 290. Eye 
of holy Phoebus. Kins. I, 1, 45. See 
Phoebus and cf. runaway's eyes. 



FACE. With that face? LLL. I, 2, 
145. Steevens says : " This cant 
phrase has oddly lasted till the 
present time ; and is used by people who 
have no more meaning annexed to it 
than Fielding had, who, putting it into 
the mouth of Beau Didapper, thinks it 
necessary to apologise (in a note) for 
its want of sense, by adding that 'it 
was taken verbatim from very polite 
conversation.' " 

fairy. See Oberon, Puck and Titania. 

fall. In 0th. I, 1, 66, the reading of the 
Fl. is : What a fall Fortune do''s the 
Thick-lips oive. This line " is ordinarily 
printed, following the Quarto : 

What a full fortune does the thick- 
lips owe. 

" This is simply, how fortunate he is. 
The reading of the Folio, which we 
adopt, conveys a much more Shak- 
sperian idea. If the Moor can carry it 
thus — appoint his own officer, in spite 
of the great ones of the city who capp'd 
to him, and, moreover can secure Des- 
demona as his prize — he is so puffed up 
with his own pride and purposes, and is 
so successful, that fortune owes him a 
heavy fall. To owe is used by Shak- 
spere not only in the ancient sense of to 
own, to 2^ossess, but in the modern 
sense of to be indebted to, to hold or 
possess for another. Fortune here 
owes the thick-lips a fall, in the same 
way that we say, ' He owes him a good 
or an evil turn.' The reading which 
we adopt is very much in Shakspere's 
manner of throwing out a hint of coming 



PAL 



406 



FEA 



calamities. The commentators do not 
even notice this reading. " Knight. 

This is certainly an admirable mean- 
ing, true to Shakespeare, and is another 
instance of how often the accepted 
emendations of the Fl. text are really 
mis-readings. See Anthony and yield, 
both in the body of this " Cyclopaedia " 
and in the " Addenda." 

fall away. To desert. Ant. IV, 6, 17; 
HVIII. II, 1, 129. 

fallen off. Revolted. Cym. Ill, 7, 6. 

falling sickness. Epilepsy, Caes. I, 3, 
256. The Comitia, or general assembly 
of the Roman people, was stopped if 
any one present was attacked by this 
illness. Hence it was called "Morbus 
comitialis. " 

fantastical. See high-fantastical. 

fastened. Inveterate ; hardened. Lr. II, 
1, 79. Perhaps a metaphor from the 
language of Masonry. In the N. E. D. 
we find an example from Leoni's ti"ans- 
lation of Alberti's " Architecture " 
(1726), I, 366 : " buildings are taken with 
the frost before ever they have fast- 
ened. ' ' Craig. 

father. This word was often used as a 
respectful mode of addressing an old 
man. Gent. IV, 2, 59 ; Wint. IV, 4, 
353. Hence, in Merch. II, 2, 72 and 76, 
Launcelot calls old GoV)bo "father" 
without being recognised as his son. 
The same occurs in Lr. IV, 6, 223, where 
Edgar calls Gloucester "father" and 
is not recognised. 

fathom. Depth ; ability ; intelligence. 
0th. I, 1, 153. 

favour. In IHIV. V, 4, 96, it means a 
scarf or similar article of wear. Some- 
thing worn as a token. In Tw. II, 4, 
24 and 25, the word is used ambiguously; 
in the first line it means countenance ; 
in the second, permission. But Abbott 
notes that it may have the same mean- 
ing in both lines and that the word by 
in the second line may mean nea7\ 
Viola was in love with the Duke. 

fear. 1. In early English and Scotch the 
verb to fear had the signification of 
to frighten. So in 3HVI. Ill, 3, 226 ; 



Merch. II, 1, 9. Spenser has: "words 
fearen babes," and in Hogg's Queen''s 
Wake we find, "It fears me muckle," 
meaning : / am much afraid. 
2. In Hml. I, 3, 52, fear me not = fear 
not for me — the preposition being fre- 
quently omitted in the case of some 
verbs. It has this meaning also in Tit. 
II, 3, 305, and Lr. IV, 2, 31. 
feature. On p. 114 (ante) this word, as it 
occurs in Cym. V, 5, 163, is explained as 
" beauty," the usual definition given in 
the glossaries. A more careful reading 
of the passage shows that grace and 
elegance of form are more nearly what 
is meant. Dr. Furness, in his ed. of 
Lear (on IV, 2, 63, p. 246), says : "See 
Schm. Lex. for proof that this [feature] 
invariably means in Sh. the shape, ex- 
terior, the whole turn or cast of the 
body." This is Schm. definition; it is 
no doubt correct in many cases, but it 
seems to me that some of the passages 
that he cites in support of this conten- 
tion prove that his assertion is too 
broad. For example : In Tw. Ill, 4, 
387, Viola says to Antonio : Nor know 
I you by voice or any feature. Viola 
could not ha ve spoken of " any feature " 
if there had not been more than one 
feature ; to make up the whole turn or 
cast of the body there must have been 
several " features," and the word prob- 
ably bears, in some passages in Sh., 
nearly the same meaning that we give 
to it now, though in Sh. it is not alto- 
gether confined to the countenance as 
is generally the case at present. Even 
in the passage under consideration (Lr. 
IV, 2, 63) it is quite as probable that 
Albany refers to Goneril's countenance, 
which was visible and would be distorted 
with passion, as to the general shape of 
her body, for the latter had suffered no 
visible change ; and in As. Ill, 3, 3, it 
is quite as likely that Touchstone refers 
to his countenance as to the turn or 
cast of his bod} , even though the word 
is in the singular. 

Sh. no doubt used the word in the 
same sense that it was used by other 



FEC 



40-; 



FET 



writers of the time, and examples of 
both meanings may be found. Thus, 
Du Bartas (1598 — my copy 1641), in his 
Fifth Day, tells us : 

God quicken'd in the sea and in the 

ri vers, 
So many fishes of so many features, 
That in the watei-s we may see all 

creatures. 

Features here evidently means shapes. 
But in Puttenhatm's "Arte of English 
Poesie " we find : 

Those louely lookes that fauour 

amiable, 
Those sweet features, and" visage full 

of grace, 

where features evidently means the 
lineaments of the face. 

That the original meaning of the word 
was make, shape, tout-enseinhle is cer- 
tain, but the meaning seems to have 
been changing about the time of Sh. 

fecks. Faith. Wint. I, 2, 120. The 
modern Scottish form of this word is 
faiks. See i fecks. 

feeding. Pasturage ; a tract of land for 
the support of sheep and cattle. Wint. 
IV, 4, 169. 

feet. The passage in 0th. V, 2, 286, / 
look down towards his feet, means : 
"To see if, according to the common 
opinion, his feet be cloven. " Johnson. 

fennel. A plant which is still occasion- 
ally cultivated in gardens, the botanical 
name being Fceniculum vulgare. It is 
frequently eaten boiled and in flavor 
resembles celery, but with a sweet taste 
and a more delicate odor. It was a 
great favorite with the Romans and so 
much used in their kitchens that there 
were few meats seasoned or vinegar 
sauces served up without it. The seeds 
are aromatic, carminative and stimu- 
lant, and the oil distilled from them 
was used in the preparation of cordials. 
It is mentioned twice in Sh. — 2HIV. 
II, 4, 267, and Hml. IV, 5, 180. In the 
first passage reference is no doubt made 
to its stimulating and "provocative" 
properties, a quality which was also 



supposed to belong to fish and especially 
to eels. 

Ophelia's meaning in offering fennel 
to the king is not quite clear. Fennel 
was a well-known emblem of flattery, 
so much so that Florio, in his Italian 
Diet., translates Dare flnocchio by, to 
give fennel ; to flatter ; to dissemble. 
But this would be a strange offering. 
So, too, would it be if given for the 
reason that Staunton suggests, that is, 
as emblematic of lust. Fennel, how- 
ever, was supposed to have many vir- 
tues, as set forth by Longfellow in The 
Goblet of Life: 
Above the lowly plants it towers, 
The fennel, with its yellow flowers, 
And in an earlier age than ours 
Was gifted with the wondrous powers 

Lost vision to restore. 
It gave new strength and fearless 

mood ; 
And gladiators fierce and rude, 
Mingled it in their daily food; 
And he wdao battled and subdued, 

A wreath of fennel wore. 

'• 

And these old and well-known reasons 
were probably those which Sh. had in 
mind when he, through Ophelia, made 
fennel a fit offering for a king. 

We have also an English word (ferula) 
interesting to schoolboys, and derived 
from the Latin name of the giant fennel 
— ferula, communis — the stalks of which 
were used by the Roman schoolmasters 
for the same purpose as that for which 
some modern pedagogues use the caue. 

ferry. See Charon. 

ferryman. See Charon. 

fetch in. As it occurs in Ado. I, 1, 225, 
is defined by Schm. as "to take in, to 
dupe." It is not probable that it has 
this meaning here. Upon this passage 
White ("Studies in Shakespeare," p. 
335) says: " Don Pedro was not taking 
in or duping his young officer. What 
occasion had he to do so ? Claudio 
means, as we all apprehend without 
conscious thought, that his superior 
designs, by a gracious compliment to 
his mistress, to draw him out of the 
slightly antagonistic attitude into wkich 



FIG 



408 



FOX 



he has been driven by the gibes of 
Benedick." 

fig's=end. Blessed fig''s-end (0th. II, 1, 
356), an expression of contempt. For 
its origin see fig. Cotgrave has : " Trut 
avant. A fig^s-end, no such matter.'''' 
The French Trut = our tut. 

filly foal. A female foal, specially attrac- 
tive to a borse fed on rich and stimu- 
lating food. Mids. II, 1, 46. Grose, in 
his "Provincial Glossary," tells us that 
in Hampshire they give the name of 
Colt-pixey to a supposed spirit or fairy 
which, in the shape of a horse, neighs 
and misleads horses into bogs. It was, 
no doubt, to this bit of folk-lore that 
Sh. referred. 

finder of madmen. Thus explained by 
Ritson : "'Finders of madmen' must 
have been those who formerly acted 
under the writ De Lunatico inquirendo; 
in virtue of which thf^j found the man 
mad.'''' This is accepted by Rolf e and 
others on the ground that for a jury to 
find a man guilty is a common expres- 
sion. But were these men ever known 
as "finders"? Dr. Johnson explains 
it as "an allusion to the witch-finders." 
A witch-finder was a well-known ofiicial, 
and I think Dr. Johnson's suggestion 
gives the true explanation. Readers of 
Scott's "Kennilworth" cannot have for- 
gotten old Gaffer Pinniewinks, the trier 
(finder) of witches. Tw. Ill, 4, 154. 

fine. The end. Ado. I, 1, 247. The 
quibble between fine., the end, and 
fine, well-dressed and equipped, is ob- 
vious. 

fire. The passage, fire us hence like 
foxes (Lr. V, 3, 23), refers to the old 
practice of driving foxes from their 
earths by fire and smoke. 

first. See coats. 

fish. When Kent says that he eats no 
fish he means that he is a good Protest- 
ant. To eat fish on account of religious 
scruples was, in Queen Elizabeth's time, 
the mark of a Papist and an enemy to 
good government. Warburton. Lr. I, 
4, 18. 

flame°coloured. See darned colour''d. 



flight. This word, as it occurs in Merch. 
I, 1, 141, evidently means that combina- 
tion of length and weight which gives 
character to an arrow. 

flowers. As given to different ages, see 
summer., middle. 

flushing. Rapid flowing. Hml. I, 2, 155. 
Schm. makes it : " ere her tears had 
had time to redden her eyes " ? Wright 
says "the verb 'flush' is still used 
transitively, meaning, to fill with 
water." Hardly. To "flush" is not 
to fill, but to cause a rapid flow. 

fool. Fool, in Sh. time, was frequently 
used as an expression of pity and also 
endearment. Lr. V, 3, 305. In Tw. V, 
1, 377, the word fool is not addressed to 
the clown, but to Malvolio. 

Some have supposed that "fool" in 
Lr. V, 3, 305, refers to the fool or clown, 
but it certainly refers to Cordelia. 

Thou art Death^s fool (Meas. Ill, 1, 
11), refers to the introduction of Death 
and a Fool in the rude old plays and 
dumb shows; the sport being made by 
Death's endeavors to surprise the Fool 
and the finally unsuccessful efforts of 
the latter to elude them. 
Fool-begged, cf. beg. 

foot. 1. To seize with the foot or talons. 

Gym. V, 4, 116. 
2. To effect a landing; to settle in a 
place. HV. II, 4, 143 ; Lr. Ill, 7, 48. 

forage. This word, as used in John V, 

1, 59, has its original sense — to range 
abroad. Johnson. 

fork. See worm. 

formal capacity. Average intelligence; 
having a mind of the usual form or 
ability. Tw. II, 5, 127. cf. Err. V, 1, 105. 

forslow. To delay. 3HVI. II, 3, 56. 

fortitude. Strength ; power of resistance. 
0th. I, 3, 222. 

fortune. See/aiZ. 

foundation. God save the foundation 
was a customary phrase employed by 
those who received alms at the gates of 
religious houses. Steevens. Ado. V, 1, 
228. 

fox. Hide fox, and all after. Hml. IV, 

2, 33. This is supposed to refer to the 



FOX 



409 



GLU 



boyish game of " AH hid " ; and Sir T. 
Hanmer expressly tells us that it was 
sometimes called, "Hide fox, and all 
after." Collier, ^eewolf. 

foxes, ^eejire. 

fraction. Discord ; disagreement ; liter- 
ally, a breaking. Troil. II, 8, 107. 

from. Away from, not proceeding from. 
Cses. II, 1, 196; Tw. I, 5, 301, and V, 
1,340. 

fruit. Dessert. Hml. II, 2, 53. 

fruitfully. Amply; fully. All's. II, 2, 
73 ; Lr. IV, 6, 270. 

full. QeefalL 



GAIN = GIVING. Misgiving; doubtful 
fear. Hml. V, 2, 226. of. gainsay. 
Also gainstand = withstand, and 
gainstrive = strive against. 

gall. Sh. refers clearly to both the animal 
and the vegetable gall ; to the latter in 
Tw. Ill, 2, 52; Cym. I, 1, 101. To the 
former, 2HIV. I, 2, 199 ; Mcb. I, 5, 49 ; 
0th. IV, 3, 92. Both kinds of gall are 
very bitter. 

gallant=springing. Full of useful pro- 
mise. RIII. I, 4, 226. 

Galloway. Referring to Galloway nags 
(p. 122, ante), I may add that Drayton, 
in the Polyolbion, III, 28, has : 

And on his match as much the Western 

horseman lays 
As the rank-riding Scots upon their 

Galloways. 

A Scot could scarcely be ' ' rank-riding, ' ' 
i.e., hard-riding, upon an inferior horse. 
gamester. At p. 122 (ante) this word, as 
it occurs in As. I, 1, 170, is defined as a 
frolicsome, merry fellow. This inter- 
pretation has never quite satisfied me. 
Caldecott defines it as " disposed to try 
his fortune at this game." Furness 
calls attention to a passage in Painter's 
" Palace of Pleasure," where gladiators 
are said to be "a certain sort of gam- 
sters in Rome, which we terme to bee 
maisters of defence. ' ' Readers of ' ' Tom 
Brown's School Days at Rugby " cannot 
have forgotten the trials of skill at 



" backswording " at the "Veast" de- 
scribed in the second chapter. The 
author tells us : "The players are called 
' old gamesters,' — why I can't tell you, — 
and their object is simply to break one 
another's heads." As here used, the 
word is undoubtedly a survival from 
the time of Sh. , and fully explains the 
expression in the play. 

gaping. See pig. 

garb. Fashion; manner. Hml. II, 1, 390 ; 
Lr. II, 2, 104. 

geminy. A pair. Wiv. II, 2, 8. 

gentle, v. To ennoble. HV. IV, 3, 63. 

gentle, adj. Noble; well-born. Wint. 
I, 2, 394 ; RIII. I, 3, 73. 

german, n. A kinsman. 0th. I, 2, 114. 

german, adj. Akin. Tim. IV, 3, 344; 
Hml. V, 2, 165. 

gild. To make drunk. Tp. V, 1, 280. 

girdle. The expression : He kyiows how 
to turn his girdle, has never been satis- 
factorily explained. Some make it out 
to be a mere proverbial phrase without 
any reasonable meaning ; others think 
that it means : He knows how to turn 
his girdle so as to bring the handle of 
his sword within reach. The latter 
seems to be a plausible explanation. 
Ado. V, 1, 142. 

given. As used in Wint. IV, 4, 107, is an 
heraldic tei'm. See summer, middle 
{ante). For a full explanation, see 
Hunter's "New Illustrations," Vol. I, 
p. 419, and Furness's ed. of TheWinter'' s 
Tale, p. 194. 

glass. A "glass" is the time required 
for the sand to run through the hour- 
glass, or one hour. Two glasses = two 
hours. Tp. I, 2, 240. 

Globe Theatre. " Barclay's Brewery has 
long swallowed it up. Globe Alley, too, 
and Thrale's house where Dr. Johnson 
worked, on the site of the Globe Theatre. 
The Blackf riars and other theatres were 
closed in 1642, and put down by the 
Puritans in 1647. The Globe was pulled 
down in 1644." Furnivall. 

glutton. The "glutton" referred toby 
Falstaff (2HIV. I, 2, 39), is Dives, or 
the rich man mentioned in Luke xvi, 



DON 



410 



GYV 



gondola. Johnson explains the phrase, 
swam in a gondola (As. IV, 1, 38), 
thus: "That is, been at Venice, the 
seat at that time of all licentiousness, 
where the young English gentlemen 
wasted their fortunes, debased their 
morals and sometimes lost their re- 
ligion." 

good. Such phrases as "good my lord," 
' ' good my friends, " " good my mother , ' ' 
frequently occur in Sh. and seem rather 
awkward to modern ears. Abbott notes: 
"The possessive adjectives, when un- 
emphatic, are sometimes transposed, 
being really combined with nouns (like 
the French monsieur, milord). " Dear 
my lord (Caes. II, 1, 255) ; Good my 
brother (Hml. 1,3, 46). See Sh. Gram., 
§13. 

good life. See life. 

Gordian knot. This familiar phrase is 
used twice in the plaj^s ; its origin is as 
follows : Internal disturbances having 
broken out in Phrygia, an oracle fore- 
told that a car would bring them a 
king who should settle their disputes. 
While the people were discussing the 
words of the oracle, Gordius, with his 
wife and his son Midas, drove into the 
market place and was at once hailed 
as king. The new king dedicated to 
Jupiter his car and the yoke to which 
the oxen had been fastened — this yoke 
having been attached to the pole of the 
car by means of a rope of bark tied 
with a wonderfully intricate knot. An 
oracle declared that whoever should 
untie that knot should reign over all 
Asia, and when Alexander the Great 
arrived at Gordium, one of the first 
things he did was to try to untie it. 
Not being able to succeed, he cut the 
knot with his sword and applied the 
oracle to himself. HV. I, 1, 46 ; Cym. 
II, 2, 34. 

Qorgon. The Gorgon referred to in 
Mcb. II, 3, 77, and Ant. II, 5, 116, 
was Medusa, whose head was cut 

- off by Perseus and afterwards be- 
came the boss of Minerva's shield. 
According to Homer, there was but one 



Gorgo, who is represented as a frightful 
phantom in Hades. Hesiod mentions 
three sisters, Stheno, Euryale and 
Medusa. They were frightful beings; 
their heads were covered with hissing 
serpents instead of hair, and they had 
wings, brazen claws and enormous 
teeth. Medusa, who alone was mortal, 
was at first a beautiful maiden, but 
having defiled one of the temples of 
Minerva, the goddess changed her hair 
into serpents and made her head so 
fearful that every one who looked at it 
was changed into stone. Hence the 
great difficulty which Perseus had in 
killing her ; for an account of which 
see Perseus. 

Qrace to boot. See boot in Addenda. 

grain, in. While this sometimes means 
dyed with kermes, a material extracted 
from the coccus insect, it also means 
that a color or other quality belongs to 
the natural substance, fibre or grain of 
any object, as in Tw. I, 5, 255, and Err. 
Ill, 2, 108. Thus we speak of evil being 
"ingrained" in some persons, i.e., ex- 
isting in the very grain or fibre of their 
being. In Tw. I, 5, 255, Olivia means 
to assert that her color is natural, not 
artificial like a dye or paint. 

grange. A lonely farm-house. Meas. Ill, 
1, 277 ; 0th. I, 1, 106. 

gravel-blind. See sand-blind. 

griffin. A fabulous beast found only in 
the zoology of heraldry. It was half 
beast, half bird of prey. Mids. II, 1, 
232 ; IHIV. Ill, 1, 152. 

grow to. Sometimes explained as "a 
household phrase applied to milk when 
burnt to the bottom of the sauce-pan, 
and thence acquiring an unpleasant 
taste." Wright. Others explain it as, 
having a tendency to. Merch, II, 2, 18. 

Syves. Fetters. Convert his gyves to 
graces. Hml. IV, 7, 21. This expres- 
sion has been the subject of some 
criticism, but the meaning is evident 
even though Schm. does call it "an 
obscure passage not yet satisfactorily 
explained or amended." It needs no 
emendation, and the meaning is obvious, 



HAB 



411 



HER 



simple and. appropriate. The king says 
in effect that if he were to restrain 
Hamlet, the love of the people (the 
general gender) for him is such that 
they would look upon him as a martyr, 
and his fetters, instead of being a dis- 
grace, would be graces. 

Elzeasks: " How can coporeal 'gyves' 
be converted into incorporeal abstract 
'graces'?" and adds: "An abstract 
noun in this connection ruins the whole 
metaphor and is illogical." Very il- 
logical, perhaps, but very expressive. 



HABITS. 'Johnson explains the phrase, 
thin habits and poor liklihoods 
of modern seeming (0th. I, 3, 108), 
as "weak show of slight appearance." 
Hunter paraphrases it : "Than the thin 
garb with which you invest the matter. ' ' 
hair, men of. See saltiers. 
hand. The phrase, at any hand (Shr. I, 
2, 147) = at any rate ; at all events. 
Nares. 

Give me your hands (Mids. V, 1, 444) 

= applaud by clapping. 

happy. Lucky ; accidental. Lr. II, 3, 3. 

harlotry. "Used much as 'slut' might 

be used at a later date. Compare the 

description of Lady Mortimer in IHIV. 

III, 1, 198: 'a peevish, self-will'd har- 
lotry, one that no persuasion can do 
good upon.'" Dowden. Bee peevish. 

harp. See miraculous. 

hate. See love. 

haud credo. (Latin) = I do not believe 
it. LLL. IV, 2, 11. 

havoc. This quarry cries on havoc (Hml. 
V, 2, 875) = "This heap of dead pro- 
claims an indiscriminate slaughtei-." 
White. 

health. See importing. 

heart. See Richard Coeur-de-lion. 

hedge=pig. A hedge-hog or urchin, Mcb. 

IV, 1, 2. 

The urchin, or hedge-hog, from its 
solitariness, the ugliness of its appear- 
ance, and from a popular opinion that 
it sucked or poisoned the udders of cows, 
was adopted into the demonologic sys- 



tem, and its shape was sometimes sup- 
posed to be assumed by mischievous 
elves. Hence it was one of the plagues 
of Caliban in The 2'empesi. T. Warton. 
Hercules. As might well be expected, 
Sh. refers very frequently to Hercules, 
who is acknowledged to be the most 
celebrated hero of all antiquity. Many 
of these references are merely allusions 
to him as a symbol of immense strength 
and prowess, but some of them are con- 
nected with incidents in his career which 
must be known before we can fully 
understand the passages in which they 
occur. 

According to Homer, Hercules (Her- 
acles) was the son of Jupiter by Alcmena, 
of Thebes, in Boeotia, who was a grand- 
daughter of Perseus. She was the 
wife of Amphitryon, in whose likeness 
Jupiter came to her while her husband 
was absent warring against the Taphians. 
On the day on which Hercules was to 
have been born Jupiter boasted of his 
becoming the father of a hero who was 
to rule over the race of Perseus. Juno 
prevailed upon him to swear that the 
descendant of Perseus, born that day, 
should be the ruler, and then she hast- 
ened to Argos and caused the wife of 
Sthenelus, the son of Perseus, to give 
birth to Eur3^stheus, and at the same 
time she delaj^ed the birth of Hercules, 
thus robbing him of the empire which 
Jupiter had destined for him. Jupiter 
was enraged at the trick played upon 
him, but he could not violate his oath. 
Juno, inspired by her hatred of the 
children of Jupiter by all mortal 
mothers, sent two serpents to destroy 
him while yet in his ci'adle, but the 
infant hero strangled them with his 
fists. LLL. V, 2, 595. 

His first great adventure happened 
while he was still watching the oxen of 
his step-father, Amphitryon. A huge 
lion, which haunted Mount Cithaeron, 
made great havoc among the flocks of 
Amphitryon and Thespius. Hercules 
slew the lion and afterwards wore its 
skin as his ordinary garment, its mouth 



KER 



412 



HER 



and head forming the hehnet. The gener- 
ally accepted story of the lion's skin, how- 
ever, is that it was that of the Neniean 
lion (LLL. IV, 1, 90, and Hml. I, 4, 83). 
It is related that after some other 
achievements he was driven mad by 
Juno, and while in this state killed his 
children by Megara, and also two of 
those of Iphicles. He then consulted 
the oracle at Delphi ; the Pythia called 
him for the first time Heracles (Her- 
cules), for his name had hitherto been 
Alcides or Alcseus, and ordered him to 
live at Tiryns and do as he was bid by 
Eurj^stheus. Eurystheus commanded 
him to perform twelve feats, which are 
known as "the twelve labours of Her- 
cules," and proverbial for their diffi- 
culty. Ado. II, 1, 380. These labours 
were as follows : 

1. The fight with the Nemean lion. 
This lion was brought up by Juno ; it 
was a monstrous animal, and after 
using his club and arrows in vain the 
hero seized it with his hands and 
strangled it. He carried the dead lion 
on his shoulders and presented it to 
Eurystheus, but the latter was so fright- 
ened at the gigantic strength of the 
hero that he ordered him in future to 
deliver the account of his exploits out- 
side the town. 

2. The destruction of the Lernaean 
hydra. Like the lion, this monster was 
brought up by Juno and ravaged the 
country of Lerna, near Argos. It had 
nine heads, the middle one being im- 
mortal. Hercules struck off its heads 
with his club, but in place of the head 
he struck off two new ones grew forth 
each time. A gigantic crab also came 
to the assistance of the hydra and 
wounded Hercules. But with the as- 
sistance of his faithful servant, lolaus, 
he burned away the mortal heads and 
buried the immortal one under a huge 
rock. He then dipped his arrows in 
the gall of the monster, and this made 
the wounds inflicted by them incurable. 

3. The capture of the Arcadian 
stag. This aninial had golden antlers 



and brazen feet. Hercules pursued it 
for a whole year, and finally wounded 
it with an arrow and carried it away 
on his shoulders. 

4. The capture of the Erymanthian 
boar. Hercules was ordered to bring 
this animal alive to Eurystheus ; he 
chased it through the snow, tired it out 
and caught it in a net. 

5. His fifth task Avas the cleansing of 
the stables of Augeas, King of Elis. 
These stalls had n(jt been cleansed in 
thirty years, though three thousand 
oxen were kept in them. Hercules 
turned the rivers Alpheus and Peneus 
through them and cleansed them in a 
single day. 

6. The destruction of the Stymphalian 
birds. These voracious creatures had 
been brought up by Mars; they had 
brazen claws, wings and beaks, and 
used their feathers for arrows. By 
means of a brazen rattle furnished by 
Minerva, Hercules startled the birds, 
and when they attempted to fly away 
he shot them with his arrows. 

7. Capture of the Cretan bull. Ac- 
cording to some, this bull was the one 
which had carried Europa across the 
sea. Hercules caught it and brought it 
home on his shoulders. 

8. The capture of the mares of the 
Thracian, Diomedes. These animals 
were fed on human flesh and were very 
savage. Hercules slew Diomedes and 
fed his flesh to these mares, after which 
they became quite tame. 

9. Seizure of the girdle of the Queen 
of the Amazons. Some traditions say 
that he slew Hippolyta and carried, oflf 
the girdle, but this does not seem to 
accord with the account given under 
Theseus, q. v. 

10. The capture of the oxen of Ger- 
yones. 

11. Fetching the golden apples of 
the Hesperides. Being unable to find 
them himself, by the advice of Pro- 
metheus he sent Atlas to fetch them, 
and in the meantime bore the weight of 
heaven for him. See Hml. 11, 2, 378» 



HER 



413 



IFG 



12. Bringing Cerberus from the lower 
world. This was the most difficult of 
all his tasks, and he accomplished it 
only through the assistance of Mercury 
and Minerva. 

For other allusions to Hercules see 
Deianira and Lichas. 

hereby. When Jaquenetta says, ThaVs 
hereby (LLL. I, 2, 14 L), she means, that 
is as it may happen ; Armado takes it 
in the sense of just by or near by. It 
has this latter sense in this play, IV", 1, 
9. In RIII. I, 4, 94, it has the sense of 
"by this. " These are the only passages 
in which the word occurs in the plays. 

Hero, The priestess of Venus with whom 
Leander was in love. See Leander. 

The Helen mentioned in Mids. V, 1, 
199, is probably intended for Hero, but 
in the speeches of these players the 
names and facts are so confused that 
it would be a vain task to try to 
straighten them out. 

Hesperus. See Lucifer and unfold. 

Hobgoblin. This name is equivalent to 
Robin the Goblin, i.e., Robin Good- 
fellow. See Puck. 

hog. See wolf. 

horn. Aubrey, in his " Natural History 
of Wiltshire " (1656), tells us that "Bed- 
. lam beggars wore about their necks a 
great borne of an ox in a string or 
bawdrie, which, when they came to an 
house for almes they did wind, and they 
did put the drink given them into this 
home whereto they did put a stopple." 
This explains Edgar's allusion in Lr. 
Ill, 6, 79. 

horologe. On page 138 {ante) a double 
set of the horologe is said to be twenty- 
four hours, but Halpin, in his " Drama- 
tic Unities," p. 18, says that the Italian 
horologe had twenty-four hours upon 
its dial-plate; this would make the 
double set equal to forty-eight hours. 
Twenty-four hours is not a long period 
to keep awake ; forty-eight hours would 
be notable. 

humour. As this word has in Sh. a sense 
different from that in which we now 
use it, we add to the definitions pre- 



viously given the following note from 
Trench's "Select Glossary": "The 
four ' humours ' in a man, according to 
the old physicians, were blood, choler, 
phlegm, and melancholy. So long as 
these were duly mixed, all would be 
well. But so soon as any of them un- 
duly preponderated, the man became 
' humourous,' one ' humour ' or another 
bearing too great a sway in him. As 
such, his conduct would not be according 
to the received rule of other men, but 
have something peculiar, whimsical, 
self-willed in it. In this self-asserting 
character of the ' humourous ' man lay 
the point of contact, the middle term, 
between the modern use of ' humour ' 
and the ancient. It was his humour 
which would lead a man to take an 
original view and aspect of things, a 
'humourous' aspect, first in the old 
sense, and then in that which we now 
employ." As. I, 2, 278. 
Hyperion. By this name Sh. always 
means either the sun or Apollo. HV. 
IV, 1, 292 ; Hml. I, 2, 140. 



ICARUS. The son of Dsedalus. He was 
drowned in the Icarian Sea, which 
was named after him. See Dcedalus. 

ice, hot. See snow. 

idle. Weak ; foolish. Lr. I, 3, 16. 

lUyria. Douce suggests that there is a 
play on Illyria and Elysium in Tw. I, 
2, 2. That the name Illyria may have 
suggested Elysium to Viola is more than 
probable, but there does not seem to be 
much room for a play on the words, 
and Viola certainly w^as not in a punning 
mood. 

impone. Osric's affected way of pro- 
nouncing impawn. Hml. V, 2, 155. 

impair. Unworthy ; unsuitable. Troil. 

IV, 5, 103. This being the only instance 
of the use of the word, Johnson suggested 
impure, which was adopted by Dyce. 

inform. To give form or shape. Mcb. 

II, 1, 48. 
ingenious. Quick in apprehension, Hml. 

V, 1, 271 ; Lr. IV, 6, 287. 



INK 



414 



JAS 



ink, license of. This expression, as it 
occurs in Tw. Ill, 2, 48, is thus explained 
by Furness : "That is with all the free- 
dona of speech which the written word 
allows." May not the phrase be thus 
paraphrased : Taunt him with a license 
which you would not dare to use if you 
were face to face with him ? Sir Andrew 
was a great coward, and both he and 
Sir Toby knew it. 

inoculate. In Hml. Ill, 1, 119, the word 
is evidently used in the old horticul- 
tural sense of to "bud," a kind of 
grafting in which a bud or eye (oculus) 
was used instead of a branch. The word 
was in common use among the old 
gardeners. Bishop Hall has: "That 
Palatine vine, late inoculated with a 
precious bud of our royal stem." 

insinuate. To suggest ; to thrust in. It 
insinuateth me of iiisanie (LLL. V, 1, 
27), evidently means : it maketh me 
mad. Holof ernes explains it in the next 
line as, to make frantic, lunatic. The 
expression has given occasion for con- 
siderable discussion. 

insinuation. Thrusting in, Hml. V, 2, 
59. Their own insinuation = by their 
having insinuated or thrust themselves 
into the employment. Malone. 

inter' gatories. Questions ; interroga- 
tories. Merch. V, 1, 298. 

In regard to this expression Lord 
Campbell says : "In the court of Queen's 
Bench , when a complaint is made against 
a person for a ' contempt,' the practice 
is that before sentence is finally pro- 
nounced, he is sent into the Crown 
Office, and being there ' charged wpon 
interrogatories,'^ he is made to swear 
that he will ' answer ' all things faith- 
fully. Another palpable allusion to 
English legal procedure. ' ' 

intendment. Purpose ; intention. As. I, 
1, 140 ; 0th. IV, 2, 208 ; HV. I, 2, 144. 

invention. Imagination. Ven. , Ded. 5 ; 
LLL. IV, 2, 129; As. II, 5, 49; HV., 
Prol. 2. 

invisible. In some eds. this is the reading 
in John V, 7, 16. Hanmer changed to 
insensible, and this has been adopted 



by most of the eds. — Dyce, Staunton, 
Singer, White and others. It makes 
good sense. Marshall retains invisible, 
and says: "But may not invisible be 
used adverbially, meaning that Death, 
having preyed upon the body, passed 
unperceived {invisible) to attack the 
mind ? But it is only fair to say that 
insensible is certainly in accordance 
with the first two lines of this speech." i 



JANUS. Mentioned twice in Sh. (Merch. 
I, 1, 50, and 0th. I, 2, 33), and both 
times as a deity to swear by. Janus 
is only another form of Dianus, and is 
from the same root as dies, day. He 
presided over the beginning of every- 
thing, and was therefore always invoked 
first in every undertaking. He opened 
the year and the seasons, and hence the 
first month (January) is named after 
him. He was the guardian deity of 
gates, and is therefore represented with 
two heads or faces because every door 
looks two ways. At Rome, ISTuma is 
said to have dedicated to Janus the 
covered passage bearing his name, which 
was opened in times of war and shut in 
times of peace. This passage is com- 
monly, but erroneously, called a temple. 
Jason. The story of Jason and the 
golden fleece, alluded to in Merch. I, 
1, 172, and III, 2, 244, is as follows : 
When Phrixus, the son of the nymph 
Nephele, was about to be sacrificed to 
Jove by the people of Orchomenus, in 
Boeotia, Nephele obtained from Mercury 
the gift of a ram with a golden fleece, 
which carried off Phrixus and his sister 
Helle through the air. Phrixus was 
carried safely to Colchis, but Helle fell 
off and was drowned in the strait which 
was called after hei-, Hellespont, i.e., 
Helle's sea. The ram was sacrificed to 
Jupiter, and its fleece was nailed to an 
oak tree and guarded by a fierce dragon. 
Pelias, the uncle of Jason, having de- 
prived the latter of his right of suc- 
cession, wished to destroy him, and 
accordingly sent him to Colchis to 



JER 



415 



LAN 



obtain the golden fleece. With the aid 
of Minerva he built the famous ship, 
the Argo, and sailed for Colchis, which 
he reached in due time, and by the aid 
of Medea obtained the fleece. See 
Medea. 

Associated with him in the expedition 
was a band of heroes known as the 
"Argonauts" after the name of the 
ship, and this name was, in modern 
times, applied to those adventurers who, 
in 1849, set out for California to seek 
for gold in its mines. 
Jerusalem Chamber. Of this, as men- 
tioned in 2HIV. V, 5, 235, Rolfe says : 
"The Jerusalem Chamber is not a bed- 
room. The king is holding a council 
there when he swoons ; and when he 
asks to be taken to ' some other chamber ' 
(that is to a bedroom), he is of course 
obeyed, and the scene shifts to that 
chamber, where he remains until he 
asks to be borne back to the Jerusalem 
Chamber on account of the prophecy 
concerning his death." Considerable 
discussion has taken place over the 
change of scene in this part of this Act, 
for an excellent exposition of which see 
Rolfe's ed. of 2HIV., p. 192. 

-It may be interesting to note that it 
was in this Chamber that the Assembly 
of Divines met in 1G43 and, during the 
five years which followed, drew up the 
Presbyterian " Confession of Faith," a 
"Directory of Public Worship," the 
"Shorter Catechism," etc. 
jewel. See watch. 

Jezebel. When Sir Andrew calls Mal- 
volio Jezebel (Tw. II, 5, 46), " he merely 
■ knows this name as a term of re- 
proach; and his applying a woman's 
name to a man is of a piece with his 
other accomplishments." C. and M. 
Cowden-Clarke. 
Jove. In most passages where Jove is 
used as a form of oath, as in Tw. II, 5, 
107, it is probable that God was the 
original word which was altered on 
account of the statute of James I. 
HaUiwell. See God, Jupiter and 
Philemon. 



KILLINQWORTH. An old form (and 
even now a local pronunciation) of 
Kenil worth. Rolfe. 2B.VI.IV, 4,39. 
One of the places described in Scott's 
famous novel of that name. 

kind. Species. Tit. II, 1, 116. 

kiss. In Sh. time it was the custom for 
partners to kiss at the beginning of 
some dances. Tp. I, 2, 378. In HVIII. 
I, 4, 95, the king says : I were U7i- 
mannerly, to take you out ayid not to 
kiss you. 

kitchen=vestal. See vestal. 

knap. To strike smartly. Lr. II, 4, 125. 
Steevens retains the rapp''d of theQ., 
and says: " Rapp'd must be the true 
reading, as the only sense of the verb to 
knap is to snap or break asunder. ' ' But 
in Scottish or old English knap means 
to strike. It is so used both by Allan 
Ramsay and Burns. 

knife. Heefast and loose. 

knight. See virgin. 



LABEL. The seal of a deed. Rom. IV, 
1, 57 ; RII. V, 2, 56. 

" The seals of deeds in our author's 
time were not impressed on the parch- 
ment itself on which the deed was 
written, but were appended on distinct 
slips or labels afiixed to the deed. Hence, 
in King Richard II, the Duke of York 
discovers a covenant which his son, the 
Duke of Aumerle, had entered into by 
the depending seal : What seal is that 
which hangs without thy bosom T^ 
Malone. 

Schm. says: "Used for the deed it- 
self," and cites Cym. V, 5, 430. But 
surely the label which Posthumus found 
on his bosom when he awoke was any- 
thing but a deed. 
lady=she. See she. 

lantern, i This word is generally spelt 
lanthorn. ) lanthorne in the Fl. In 
the g. a. text this spelling is retained in 
Mids. Ill, 1, 61, and V, 1, 136, etc., and 
2HI V. I, 2, 55, because in these passages 
there is a quibble upon horn referring 
in Mids. to the horns of the moon, and 



LAP 



416 



LIF 



in 2HIV. to the horns of the cuckold. 
Elsewhere, as in Wiv. V, 5, 82, and 
2HVI. II, 3, 25, it is spelt properly, 
lantern. Before glass became so com- 
mon, the manufacture of thin, trans- 
parent plates from the horns of the ox 
was extensively carried on, and in the 
best lanterns such plates were used to 
protect the lamp or candle and yet 
allow the light to shine through. From 
this fact came the popular, though 
erroneous, etymology of the word and 
the consequent spelling, lanthorn. 
lapsed. The meanings ordinarily given 
to this word (e. g. , as it occurs in Hml. 
Ill, 4, 107), do not make sense in Tw. 
Ill, 3, 36, and Hunter therefore pro- 
posed to substitute latched, a word 
which has the meaning of caught, in 
several passages, e. g., Sonn. CXIII, 6, 
and Mcb. IV, 3, 195, Schm. makes 
lapsed = "surprised, taken in the act " 
both in Tw. and Hml., but by this, as 
Furness says, " the passage in Hamlet, 

* who lapsed in fume [sic] * and passion ' 
is altogether misinterpreted." Lapsed 
usually signifies fallen, and although 
the mode of expression is unusual and 
pi'obably unique, we might, perhaps, 
thus paraphrase Antonio's saying : If I 
should fall into their power. 

lard. 1. To fatten. Tim. IV, 3, 12. 

2. To baste, as grease is applied to meat 
during the process of roasting. IHIV. 
II, 2, 116. 

3. To stuff. Hml. IV, 5, 37. 

The word as it occurs in HV. IV, 6, 
8, has been explained as enriching and 
also as garnishing. Either definition 
makes good sense, and the word has 
both meanings in Sh. 

lay-by. Stand still. IHIV. I, 2, 40; 
HVIII. Ill, 1, 11. 

Learning. The passage in Mids. V, 1, .52, 
The thrice three Muses mourning for 

* This word is time in the Fl. and the g. a. 

text. Collier's MS. suggested /itj/ie, but 
Furness rejected it in his text, and in 
his notes gave strong reasons for so 
doing. He has adopted it in his quota- 
tion. See his ed. of Tw., p. :313. 



the death Of Learning, late deceased 
in beggary, has been supposed by Knight 
to refer to the death of Greene, which 
toolc place in 1592, in great poverty and 
misery. Greene took great pride in the 
fact that he was a graduate of the 
University, and the following tJivo lines: 
This is some Satire keene and criticall, 
agree very well with the fact that Sh. 
had no good reason to either respect or 
love him. 

Warton thought that it referred to 
Spenser's Tears of the Muses, but the 
entire passage does not sustain this idea. 
Rolfe seems to think that it is nothing 
more than an allusion to the general 
neglect of learning in that day. 

leek. The national plant of the Welsh, 
who wear a leek on St. David's day 
(the first of March) in honor of their 
patron saint. Much doubt exists as to 
the origin of this custom. According 
to the Welsh, it is because St. David 
ordered his Britons to place leeks in 
their caps that they might be distin- 
guished in fight from their Saxon foes. 
Sh. in HV. IV, 7, 101, et seq., puts in 
the mouth of Fluellen another explana- 
tion. Dr. Owen Pughe supposes the 
custom arose from the practice of every 
farmer contributing his leek to the 
common repast when they met at Cym- 
mortha, an association by which they 
reciprocated assistance in ploughing 
the land. Dyer. 

let=alone. The power of preventing it, 
of saying " Do it not." Craig. Lr. V, 
3, 79. 

lieutenantry. Substitution. Dealt on 
Lieutenantry = fought by proxy. The 
etymological or radical meaning of the 
word. Ant. Ill, 11, 39. 

life. The phrase, a song of good life, as 
it occurs in Tw. II, 3, 37, is explained 
by Malone, Schm. and some others 
as a good course or manner of living. 
Steevens thought it meant "harmless 
mirth and jollity. " Furness thinks that 
the clown knew his company too well 
to propose a song of a moral turn, and 
that Steevens has given the right deflu- 



LIN 



417 



MAL 



ition, the " bariiiless " being possibly 
omitted. For the expression good life, 
as it occurs in Tp. Ill, 3, 8, see observa- 
tion. 

linger. To delay ; to protract ; to put 
off. Mids. I, 1, 4; RII. II, 3, 73. 

Hon. See wolf. 

lion=fell. A lion's skin. Mids. V, 1, 337. 
Field suggested lion^s fell or lion-fell. 
Furness makes this comment : " Field's 
high deserving lies in his discerning 
that ' fell ' is a noun and not an adjec- 
tive; and that by this interpretation 
point is given to 'lion's dam.' For 
Snug to say that he is ' neither a lion 
nor a lioness ' is to me pointless, but all 
is changed if we suppose him to say that 
he is a lion's skin, and only because, as 
such, he encloses a lion, can he be a 
lioness." The objection to this, in my 
mind, is that the idea is too subtle to be 
put into the mouth of a "patch" like 
Snug, and Sh. generally adapts the 
language of his characters to their 
personalities. Daniel conjectures the 
following : '• I am Snug the joiner in A 
lion-fell or else a lion's skin." Rowe 
read No lion for A lion. It would not 
be a great stretch to paraphrase Snug's 
words thus: "I, one Snug the joiner, 
am merely a lion's skin, not even a 
lioness. ;' The words lion and fell are 
not hyphenated in the Fl. The hyphen 
has been adoped in the Grlobe and most 
modern eds. 

Hon=sick. Sick of proud heart. Troil. 
II, 3, 93. 

live. See die. 

loam. This word, as it occurs in the Fl. 
in Mids. V, 1, 163, was changed to lime 
in 3rd Var. , after a conjectural emend- 
ation by Capell. Lime is probably the 
correct reading, as that material, and 
not loam, forms an ingredient in rough- 
cast. A very little loa^n would spoil 
the rough-cast. 

loathly. Loathingly. Lr. II, 1, 53. 

Lord. The expression for the Lord''s 
sake was the supplication of imprisoned 
debtors to the passers-by. Meas. IV, 3, 
31. 



lost. For this word, as it occurs in Rom. 
I, 1, 30o, Allen would read left, and 
Dowden is much inclined to believe that 
this is the true reading. 

love. In Rom. Ill, 1, 63, the Fl. reads : 
Romeo the love I bear thee. In the Ql. 
the reading is the hate, and this word 
has been adopted by most eds. in place 
of love. The use of love indicates irony, 
and as Dowden says, Tybalt is not 
given to irony. 



MADDED. Made mad ; driven insane. 
Sh. does not use maddened. Lr. 
IV, 3, 43. 

made. The expression in Wiv. II, 1, 344, 
What they made there, is equivalent to 
what they were doing there. See also 
Rom. V, 3, 380. 

magic. See verses. 

maid. As it occurs in Rom. II, 3, 6, 
refers to Juliet as "a votary of the 
virgin Diana. " Dowden. 

make. A mate; a partner. Lr. IV, 3, 
36. It is one self Tnate and make in 
Ql. ; m,ate and mate in Q3. and Q3. 
Omitted from Fl. The "Cambridge," 
"Globe" and most eds. follow the Q3. 
audQS. The "Oxford," the "Dowden" 
and some others follow the QL, which 
to me seems altogether the most Shake- 
spearean. "Make" or "maik" is a 
well-known Scotch and old English 
word found in Chaucer in the same 
sense, and quite common in old Scottish 
poetry. The use of the word in this 
passage avoids tautology and is far 
more expressive. See Tnakeless. 

mallet. This word, as it occurs in 3HIV. 
II, 4, 363, there''s no more conceit in 
him than is in a mallet, does not seem 
to afford such a striking comparison as 
Sh. usually puts into the mouth of 
Falstaff. If Sh. had sought some in- 
animate object as an illustration of 
stupidity and lack of conceit, he cer- 
tainly could have found something more 
appropriate than that tool which is the 
symbol of handicraft and the repre- 
sentative of activity, work and progress, 



HAN 



418 



MIM 



as seen in the common sign of the 
mechanic's arm and hammer or mallet. 
It is more than probable that Sh. com- 
pared Poins to some stupid animal, and 
that the word he used was iuullet, the 
name of a dull, mud-loving fish, and 
the very emblem of an unimaginative, 
witless fellow. Three lines below, Fal- 
staff speaks of another fish, the conger 
eel. It is true that mullet occurs no- 
where else in Sh,, but then neither does 
mallet. 

The only suggestion of a new reading 
that I can find is that by Schm., who 
proposes "mallard " ; but this certainly 
could not have been the word. The 
mallard, as Sh. very well knew, is one 
of the most wide-awake, cunning and 
intelligent birds known to sportsmen, 
and one not at all devoid of conceit., 
which, according to Schm. and others, 
signifies "mental faculty, comprising 
the understanding as well as the imagin- 
ation." 

manage. 1. The training of a horse to 
obey the hand and voice. As. I, 1, 13. 
2. The management or government of a 
horse. RII. Ill, 3, 179 ; IHI V. II, 3, 52. 

marish. See nourish. 

marriage ceremonies. See hair and 
wine. 

martial hand. Probably a bold, free 
hand with large letters. Tw. Ill, 2, 45. 
Johnson defines it as " a careless scrawl, 
such as showed the writer to neglect 
ceremony." Purness says: "Possibly 
it may mean with heavy-faced, aggres- 
sive flourishes." 

Martin, Saint. See summer. 

maugre. In spite of. Tw. Ill, 1, 163 ; 
Lr. V, 3, 131. 

me. In the following passage : A good 
sherris-sack hath a twofold operation 
in it. It ascends me into the brain; 
dries me there all the foolish and dull 
and crudy vapours xvhich environ it. 
* * * The second, projierty of your 
excellent sherris ts * * * and then 
the vital commoners and inland petty 
spirits muster me all to their captain. 
amV. IV, 8, 103, et seq. Also Hml. 



II, 1, 7 : Inquireme first what Danskers 
are in Paris. The m,e and you in these 
passages are what is known as the 
"ethical dative," which is defined as 
" the dative of a first or second personal 
pronoun, implying a degree of interest 
in the person speaking or the person 
addressed used colloquially to give a 
lively or familiar tone to the sentence." 
Ce7it. Diet. See your. 

meet. Fit for ; equal to. Ado. I, 1, 47, 
he'' II be meet with you = he'll be a 
match for you. 

mellow. Ripe; fit to be disclosed. Tw. 

1, 2, 43. 

mercliant. See royal Tuer chant. 
Merlin. This famous wizard and prophet 
is referred to twice in the plays — IHIV. 

III, 1, 150, and Lr. Ill, 2, 95. There 
seems to have been two of this name, 
but the one generally meant is the hero 
of the Arthurian romances. He is said 
to have been of miraculous birth and to 
have been an adept in magic. He fell 
under the wiles of an enchantress and 
lies sleeping in some dark tangled wood, 
guarded by magic from all intrusion. 
Amongst other famous deeds. Merlin is 
said to have instituted the Round Table 
at Carduel. In the days preceding Sh. 
all this was firmly believed. Tennyson, 
in his "Idylls of the King," gives an 
account of Merlin and the enchantress, 
Vivien. The prophecies attributed to 
him were written by H6lie de Borron 
about the year 1200. 

Merry Tales, The Hundred. See tales. 

metheglin. A drink made of a solution 
of honey, fermented. Wiv. V, 5, 168. 

mettle or metal of India. See nettle. 

Milan. As it occurs in Tp. V, 1, 8, the 
word means Duke of Milan. So in 
Hml. I, 2, 44 : You cannot speak of 
reason to the Dane, i.e., to the King 
of Denmark. 

mimic. An actor; a player. Mids. Ill, 

2, 19. 

Various emendations of this word 
have been given. Johnson thought it 
a mere term of contempt ; Ritson read 
mammock, which he says "signifies a 



MIN 



419 



NOB 



huge misshapen thing." But Malone 
pointed out that tnimmick is used as 
synonymous to actor in Decker's " Guls 
Hornebooke;" and Wright quotes from 
Herrick's The Wake (II, 63) : 

Morris-dancers thou shalt see, 
Marian too in Pagentrie : 
And a Mimick to devise, . 
Many grinning properties. 

"Minnick " in the Ql. ; "Minnock " in 
the Q3 ; " Mimmick " in the first three 
Folios. 

mine. See wren. 

misuse. To deceive. Ado. II, 2, 28. cf. 
abuse. 

mock="Water. See muck-water. 

mole. A blemish. Hml. I, 4, 2i. 

monarch. See north. 

mongrel. In Troil. II, 1, 14, Thersites 
calls Ajax a "mongrel," pi-obably be- 
cause his father, Telamon, was a Greek, 
and his mother, Hesione, a Ti-ojan. cf. 
same play, IV, 5, 120. See Ajax. 

moon, ^eeplantage. 

moral. Moralizing ; like one who utters 
" wise saws." Lr. IV, 2, 58. 

moralize. To expound; to interpret. As. 
II, 1, 44 ; Shr, IV, 4, 81 ; RIII. Ill, 1, 83. 

mortifying. Killing. Ado. 1, 3, 13 ; Merch. 
I, 1, 82. Frequently used by Sh. in the 
literal or etymological sense. 

murderer. Two murderers appear in 
RIII. as dr. p., and three in Mcb. A 
question has arisen as to who the third 
murderer in Mcb. was. Some think 
that it was Macbeth himself; others 
claim that it was merely a messenger 
sent to inform them in regard to Ban- 
quo's movements. Johnson, in his note 
on line 130, says that he was "the 
perfect spy o' the time." See spy. 

music, broken. " Some instruments, such 
as viols, violins, flutes, etc., were for- 
merly made in sets of four, which when 
played together formed a ' consort. ' If 
one or more of the instruments of one 
set were substituted for the correspond- 
ing ones of another set the result 
was no longer a consort but broken 
music." Jephson. As. I, 2, 150; HV. 
V, 2, 263. 



mussel = shell. Open-mouth. Wiv. IV, 

5,29. 

mustachio. In the Fl. this word, in 
IHIV. II, 1, 83, is hyphenated with the 
two following, thus, niustachio-pur2:)le- 
hued, hence some have interpreted it 
as =" ale-topers ; those who dip their 
naustachios so deeply and perpetually in 
liquor as to stain them pui'ple red. ' ' This 
is doubtful. Mustachios, curled up at the 
ends, have always been a characteristic 
of bravado- like fellows who adopted the 
airs of Spanish bandits. I think the 
meaning probably is fiery-faced fellows 
with fierce mustachios. Wine might 
dye the hair purple, but I doubt if ale 
would do so. 

mute. Referring to this word in Tw. I, 
2, 63, Schm. gives this extraordinary 
explanation : " In Turkey, a dumb ofiicer 
acting as executioner." Upon which 
Furness very properly remarks : " It is 
not easy to see the appropriateness of 
such an ofiicer on the present occasion. " 
Deighton suggests that the word eunuch 
in Viola's speech brings to the captain's 
mind the mutes of the eastern courts. 
This is very probable, because Viola had 
just requested his silence as to her true 
condition. That Sh. sometimes con- 
nected the "mutes" with the Turkish 
court and harem is seen in HV. I, 2, 232. 

mutually. In Wiv. V, 5, 103, and Cor. 
I, 1, 106, this word evidently means all 
together, and does not involve the idea 
of reciprocity, which is the prominent 
element in its meaning at present. 



NEIF. The hand or, rather, fist. This 
word in 2H1V. II, 4, 200, gives rise 
to half a page of comment in the 
3rd Var. It is a common Scotch word. 
The expression, "a neiv-fu' " is a com- 
mon Scotch synonym for a handful. 
night. See vast. 
nine. See wren. 
Nine Worthies. See Wo7'thies. 
Nob. A familiar and somewhat con- 
temptuous form of Robert. I would 
not be Sir Nob = I would not be Sir 



IfOO 



420 



OUT 



Robert, i.e., his brother. John I, 
1, 147. 

noon. The expression, Fll go to bed at 
noon (Lr. Ill, 6, 93), is not unusual in 
the Elizabethan drama. It was used to 
signify easy-going idleness. Some have 
thought that the fool prophecies his 
own early death, but there seems to be 
no ground for this. 

note. Memorandum ; list. Wint. IV, 3, 49. 

notorious. Egregious ; great. Tw. V, 
1, 337. 

notoriously. Excessively ; egregiously. 
Tw. V, 1, 388. 

nursery. Attendance; nursing. Lr. I, 
1, 126. 



OB. An abbreviation of obolus — a 
halfpenny. IHIV. II, 4, 590. The 
obolus was the smallest Greek coin 
and was the silver piece placed in the 
mouth of each corpse when properly 
prepared for burial. See Charon. 

o'er looked. Marshall explains this word, 
as it occurs in John V, 4, 55, as " over- 
borne," but a nearer synonym would 
probably be "risen above." cf. Hml. 
IV, 5, 99 — the ocean overpeering of his 
list. 

old man. Sir Andrew's expression in 
Tw. I, 3, 126 : and yet I will not 
compare with an old man, has not 
been very clearly explained. Theobald 
changed old man to nobleman, but this 
does not seem to mend matters. The 
Clarkes explain it thus: "We take its 
signification to be, that the knight, by 
the term ' an old man,' means 'a man 
of experience," just as he has before 
deferred to his ' betters ' ; while the use 
of the word ' old ' gives precisely that 
absurd effect of refraining from com- 
peting in dancing, fencing, etc., with 
exactly the antagonist incapacitated by 
age, over whom even Sir Andrew might 
hope to prove his superiority." The 
contest, however, was not about "danc- 
ing and fencing," but about "masks 
and revels," and in these Sir Andrew 
might be at a disadvantage with a man 



of greater experience than himself, even 
though his antagonist should be physic- 
ally less active. 

It is sometimes a fruitless task to try 
to make sense out of the foolish knight's 
" maunderings," but as a last desperate 
attempt to extract sense out of what 
may be mere nonsense, it might be 
suggested that "compare" here may be 
a form of "compear," and that Sir 
Andrew means that he would not ap- 
pear in a mask with an old man. 
olive. See three-nooked. 
one=trunk=inheriting. " Possessing but 
one trunk, one coffer of effects. To 
inherit has frequently the sense to 
possess in Sh. See Tp. II, 2, 179. Here 
it might have the ordinary meaning. " 
Craig. Lr. II, 2, 20. 
opinion. Reputation. Merch. I, 1, 91. 
orbs. As it occurs in Mids. II, 1, 9, is 
generally supposed to refer to the ' ' fairy 
rings" sometimes found in meadows. 
See ringlets. Bell thinks the fairy 
means that she gathers dew to wash the 
eyes of the queen, Maydew being sup- 
posed to be a wonderful preserver of 
beauty. 
orchard. See wort, (2). 
Orion. A misprint for Arion in Tw. I, 
2, 15, occurs in the Pi. and has been 
copied in some eds. See Arion. 
orphan heirs. This expression, which 
occurs in Wiv. V, 5, 43, was changed 
by Theobald to ouphen-heirs, that is, 
fairy or goblin heirs. But, as explained 
by the Cowden-Clarkes, the reading of 
the Fl. makes very good sense. They 
explain it as : " Beings created orphans 
by fate; in allusion to supposed spon- 
taneous and unnatural births, such as 
Merlin's and others of his stamp, holding 
place in popular superstition, who were 
believed to have been born without 
fathers." ^ee unfathered. 
ouphen. See orj^han heirs. 
outlaw'd. The phrase outlaw'' d from my 
blood (Lr. Ill, 4, 172), means condemned 
to outlawry (loss of estate, etc.) through 
corruption of the blood. Those subject 
to attainder (stain or corruption of 



PAN 



421 



PLU 



the blood) formerly suffered such loss. 

Craig, cf. IHVI. Ill, 1, 159. 
overture. See coverture. 
owe. See fall. 



PANDION. King of Athens and the 
father of Procne and Philomela. 
Pilgr. 395. In return for assistance 
in a war against Labdacus, King of 
Thebes, he gave his daughter, Philomela, 
to Tereus, in marriage. See Philo'rnela. 

parts. Of this word, as it occurs in 0th. 
I, 2, 81, Furness says: "Schmidt and 
Rolfe agree in interpreting this as 
mer'its. It seems to me that it is rather 
the endowments of nature, his natural 
gifts, like ' 3^our sum of parts ' in Hml. 
IV, 7, 74." See parted, (1). 

pash. The head. The comments on this 
word, as it occurs in Wint. I, 2, 128, fill 
a page in the 3rd Var. Malone's note 
is worth reproducing. He says : "I 
have lately learned that pash in Scot- 
land signifies a head. The old reading, 
theref oi'e, may stand. Many words that 
are now used only in that country, were 
perhaps once common to the whole 
island of Great Britain, or at least to 
the northern part of England. The 
meaning, therefore, of the present pass- 
age, I suppose, is this : ' You tell me 
(says Leontes to his son), that you are 
like me; that you are my calf. I am 
the horned bull ; thou wantest the 
rough head and the horns of that 
animal, completely to resemble your 
father.'" 

The word pash, meaning head, is 
quite common in Scottish poetry. Ram- 
say, in his letter to Arbuckle (January, 
1719), referring to his occupations of 
poet, bookseller and wigmaker, says : 

I theek [thatch] the out an' line the 

inside 
O' mony a douse an' witty pash 
An' baith ways gather in the cash. 

See ante, under shoots. 
pass of pate. Sally of wit. Tp. IV, 1, 244. 
passion. The expression, masters of 

passion (Merch. IV, 1, 51) = agencies 



(such as Shylock has been speaking of) 
that move either the sympathy or anti- 
pathy of any man. Passion is used in 
the original sense of feeling or emotion, 
cf. Caes. I, 2, 48, / have much mistook 
your passion, etc. Rolfe. See affec- 
tion. The Globe, Cambridge and some 
other eds. follow Capell and read mis- 
tress of passion. 
perfumer. What we would now call 

a fumigator. Ado. I, 3, 60. 
physician. Bee precisian. 
pig. A young pig dressed whole and with 
a lemon stuck in its gaping mouth was 
frequently served at table. Merch. IV, 
1, 47. 
Pigmies. See Pygmies. 
plummet. A leaden weight (from the 
luSitin, plumbum, lead). Tp. Ill, 3, 101, 
and V, 1, 56 ; Wiv. V, 5, 173. 

The word is sometimes erroneously 
applied to the line to which the plummet 
is usually attached. Cotgrave has: 
"Plombeau: m. A plummet; or weight 
of lead.'''' Falstaff's saying in Wiv. V, 
5, 173, has given rise to a good deal of 
comment and some curious emendations. 
Thus Johnson suggested " has a plume 
o' me," i.e., "plucks me and decks 
itself with the spoils of my weakness" ; 
Farmer conjectured: "is a planet o'er 
me," and there are others. Tyrwhitt 
explained the passage thus : ' ' ignorance 
itself is not so low as I am by the length 
of a plummet-line," evidently forgetting 
not only that a plummet-line has no 
definite length, but that Falstaff is 
speaking of a plummet, and not a 
plummet-line. R. G. White thinks it 
means: "ignorance itself points out 
my deviations from rectitude." Schm. : 
" ignorance itself sounds my depth and 
searches my bottom." The Cowden- 
Clarkes: "ignorance itself can sound 
the depths of my shallowness in this." 
Marshall and Daniel: "I am at the 
lowest point of Fortune's wheel ; ignor- 
ance, at the highest, triumphs over 
me"; but what a plummet has to do 
with Fortune's wheel is not so easily 
seen. It seems to me that the meaning 



FOE 



422 



BOS 



is simple and obvious: "ignorance 
itself (the 'Welsh flannel' making 
' fritters of English ') is a heavy weight 
directly over me and crushing me 
down." 

So, in Laws of Candy, by Beaumont 
and Fletcher, IV, 1, we find : 

For when sad thoughts perplex the 

mind of man 
There is a plummet in the heart that 

weighs 
And pulls us, living, to tha dust we 

came from. 

poem. See scene. 

point. The expression " at point " means 
in armed readiness, fully equipped or 
accoutred, Mcb. IV, 3, 135; Hml. I, 
2, 200 ; Lr. I, 4, 347. 

possessed. Insane. Tw. Ill, 4, 9, In 
Sh. time madmen were supposed to be 
possessed of devils. Hence the mock 
exorcisms in Act IV, Sc. 2, same play. 

post. See sheriff's post. 

prick, V. Under def. (4) of this word I 
have suggested that Sh. refers to the 
word "prick- louse," which is a cant 
name for a man's tailor. That this 
word was in use in the time of Sh. is 
certain. The earliest use of the word, 
that I had found, was by Sir Roger 
L'Estrange (1616-1704), but Professor 
Dowden has kindly pointed out to me 
that it occurs in a ballad by the Scottish 
poet, William Dunbar (1460-1525), en- 
titled, " The Justis Betuix the Tailyeour 
and Sowtar," which begins ; 

Nixt at a Tornament was tryit 
That lang before in Hell was cryit 

In presens of Mahoune 
Betuix a Tailyeour and a Sowtar 
A priklouss and a hobblU clowtar 
Thair barrass was maid boune. 
—Dunbar^s Poems, ed. David Lang, 1834. 
process. See set. 

progeny. 1. Offspring; children. LLL, 
V, 2, 754 ; Mids. II, 1, 115. 
2. Progenitors ; ancestry. IHVI. V, 4, 
38; Cor. 1,8, 12. Bee ivhip. 

The first sense is the only one in use 
now, but Sh. and other authors of the 
time use the word in both senses. 



propertied. Endowed with qualities or 
properties. Ant. V, 2, 83. 

property, v. To appropriate; to con- 
vert into property. Tw. IV, 2, 99 ; 
John V, 2, 79; Tim. I, 1,57. 

Collier suggested that in Tw. Sh. had 
some allusion to the properties (as they 
were then, and ai"e still called) of a 
theatre, which, when out of use, were 
thrust into some dark loft or lumber- 
room. From Sh. familiarity with play- 
house terms, it is not unlikely that this 
suggestion may be well founded. Fur- 
ness seems inclined to accept it. 



Endowed with all good 
Shr. IV, 5, 66 ; Cym. I, 



QUALIFIED. 
qualities. 
4, 65. 
Ingleby cites Davenant's Unfortunate 
Lovers, I, 1, for an instance of the use 
of this word in this sense : 
But why, Rampino? since this lady is 
So rarely qualified. 
See constant-qualified. 



RAQ. This word, as it occurs in Tim. 
IV, 3, 271, does not seem to make 
good sense. Johnson suggested 
rogue, a word which is probably the 
correct reading. See 3rd Var. XIII, 
391. 

recollected. See terms. 

recomforture. Fresh comfort. RIII. IV, 
4, 425. 

red=breast. See robin red-breast. 

rhyme. See verses. 

rose. This flower occupies a prominent 
position in the writings of Sh., and it 
well deserves it. Ellacombe, in his 
" Plant - Lore and Garden - Craft of 
Shakespeare," devotes over ten pages 
to the rose and its history. The scene 
in the Temple Garden (IHVI. II, 4), 
where the White and Red Roses were 
taken as the colors of the houses of 
York and Lancaster was the prelude to 
civil wars which sent thousands of 
" souls to death and deadly night." 
Ellacombe tells us that the White 



ROtr 



423 



8F£ 



Rose of York has never been satisfac- 
torily identified, but he seems to hold 
that the Red Rose and the Provengal 
Rose are the colors of Lancaster, and 
"are no doubt the same and are what we 
now call R. Centifolia, or the Cabbage 
Rose." To a rose whose petals were 
striped with red and white the name of 
"York and Lancaster" has been given. 
The wbite rose has a very ancient 
interest for Englishmen, the flower 
having been connected with one of the 
most ancient names of the island. The 
elder Pliny, in discussing the etymology 
of the word Albion, suggests that the 
land may have been so named from the 
white roses which abounded in it. 

rounded. Whispered. Wint. I, 2, 217; 
John II, 1, 566. This use of the word 
is common in Chaucer and the writers 
of Sh. time. 

rowel=head. Defined by most dictionaries 
and by Schra. as "the axis on which 
the rowel turns." Surely not. The 
rowel-head is the fork which serves to 
hold the rowel and its axis. The ends 
of the forks prevent the rowel from 
sinking into the hide ; hence the expres- 
sion : "up to the rowel-head." 2HIV. 
I, 1, 46. 

rushes. See cage. 



SAMPHIRE. A plant which grows on 
rocks within the infiuence of sea 
spray. The name is said to be a 
corruption of Saint Peter, and the plant 
was called in Italian, Herba di San 
Pietro — Peter, as is well known, signifies 
a rock. In Sh. time the gathering of 
samphire was a regular trade, and the 
leaves were used to make a pickle, " the 
pleasantest sauce, most familiar and 
best agreeing with man's body," but 
which has now fallen out of use and 
is rarely seen, though the plant grows 
round all the coasts of Great Britain 
and Ireland wherever there are suitable 
rocks. Lr. IV, 6, 1.5. 
sanctuarise. To give a sanctuary or place 
of refuge to. Even the church should 



not protect Hamlet, he being the mur- 
derer of Polonius. Hml. IV, 7, 129. 

saying. See deed, 

set. A term in tennis. LLL. V, 2, 29. 

silver. The piece of silver referred to in 
Kins. IV, 3, 18, is the obolus, the small- 
est silver coin among the Greeks. It 
was placed in the mouth of every corpse 
that received proper burial. See Charon. 

sinews. Nerves. Ven. 903; Lr. Ill, 6, 
105. In the latter passage (which is 
omitted from the Folios, but is found 
in the Quartos) the "Globe" reads 
senses, which was suggested by Theo- 
bald. The "Cambridge," Dyce and 
many others adhere to the reading of 
the Quartos, which is probably correct. 

sing. On the passage in Lr. V, 3, 9, We 
two alone will sing like birds V the 
cage, Craig has this note: "We must 
not forget that cage had the meaning of 
prison. See 2HVL IV, 2, 56." True it 
had and still has that meaning in the 
slang of jailbirds and thieves (see latest 
ed. of the "Lexicon Balatronicum "), 
but what has that to do with the pure 
Cordelia and her kingly father ? Even 
though we learn from our study of 
"peddler's French" that "cage" is slang 
for prison, why should we destroy an 
exquisite metaphor by reading into such 
a beautiful expression of affection and 
hope a coarse idea which certainly has 
no place there ? 

soothe. To humor. Lr. Ill, 4, 182. 

Sophy. " The title of Sophy, by which 
the Shah of Persia was most commonly 
known in the 16th and 17th centuries, 
was derived from the Safavi dynasty, 
founded in 1500 by Shah Ismail, whose 
descendants occupied the throne until 
1736, when the power was seized by 
Nadir Shah." Wright. Their ambassa- 
dors spent money so lavishly that 
their wealth was supposed to exceed 
anything known to western nations. 
Tw. II, 5, 197. 

spear=grass. The identification of this 
plant has puzzled the coms. Ellacombe 
thinks it is the couch-grass {Triticum 
repens), but it is doubtful if the leaves 



SPE 



424 



TAK 



of that plant are rough enough for the 
purpose indicated in IHIV. II, 4, o4U. 

spectacles. Eyes; organs to see with. 
2HVI. Ill, 3, 113 ; Cym. I, 6, 37. 

states. Estates. As. V, 4, 181. 

stelled. This word, as it occurs in Lr. 
Ill, 7, 61, is explained by Craig as fixed, 
with, perhaps, a play on the other sense 
— starry. His note on p. 163 of the 
"Dowden" ed. of Lear is well worth 
consulting. 

stones. See thunder. 

strange. See snow. 

swan. When Celia (As. I, 3, 77) speaks 
of Juno's swans she forgets that the 
peacock, and not the swan, belonged to 
Juno. The Swan was sacred to Venus. 
See Juno and Venus. 

sweep. The expression, To sweep the 
dust behind the door (Mids. V, 1, 397), 
is explained by Halliwell as "to sweep 
away the dust which is behind the door, ' ' 
and this is undoubtedly right. Good 
housewives have a proverb : " Sweep 
the corners clean and the middle will 
take care of itself." Wright says: To 
sweep the dust behind the door, where 
it would be likely to escape notice — 
a doubtful gloss. 



TABLE. In the Fl.thelineHV.il, 3, 17, 
reads : his Nose was as sharpe as a 
Pen, and a Table of greene fields. 
This was changed by Theobald to : his 
nose was as sharp as a pen, and a' 
babbled of green fields, and the emend- 
ation has not only been generally ac- 
cepted, but is regarded by the best 
Shakespearean scholars as one of the 
happiest restorations that has ever been 
made in the text. Other readings 
have been suggested, but none that so 
well meets the conditions of the case. 
Desperate attempts have been made to 
defend the text as it stands, chiefly by 
the Baconians, who see in it a reference 
to Hippocrates, a medical writer whose 
works it is very improbable that Sh. 
had ever seen, but whose description of 
the appearances which tisually precede 



death has been quoted by Bacon. But 
the fades Hippocratica (the Hippo- 
cratic face) was well known to the doc- 
tors, and even to the old women nurses, 
of Sh. timeand nmst have been common 
talk amongst them. Theobald's reading 
is sustained by what is previously said 
about his playing with flowers and the 
well-known tendency of the dying to 
revert to the times of childhood and 
boyhood, and to dream of wandering 
about cool streams and green fields. 
The word is fields in theFl., and not 
field, which it would naturally have 
been if used as a synonym for back- 
ground. 

tail. Upon the expression in Mcb. I, 3, 
9, And like a rat without a tail, 
Steevens has the following note: "It 
should be remembered (as it was the 
belief of the times) that though a witch 
could assume the form of any animal 
she pleased, the tail would still be want- 
ing. The reason given by some of the 
old writers, for such a deficiency, is 
that though the hands and feet, by an 
easy change, might be converted into 
the four paws of a beast, there was still 
no part about a woman which corre- 
sponded with the length of tail common 
to almost all our four-footed creatures "; 
and in Dyer's "Folk Lore" we find: 
" In German legends and traditions we 
frequently find notice of witches as- 
suming the form of a cat, and displaying 
their fiendish character in certain dia- 
bolical acts. It was, however, the 
absence of the tail that only too often 
was the cause of the witch being detected 
in her disguised form. That horrible 
creature of superstition, the wer-wolf, 
or human being changed into a wolf, 
was distinguished by having no tail." 

Capell makes the following note on 
this point: ^^ Tails are the rudders of 
water-animals, as the rat is occasionally, 
so that it is intimated in effect that she 
would find her port without a rudder 
as well as sail in a sieve." 

take. Although this word is properly 
defined in its regular place and reference 



TAL 



4?3;^ 



VEA 



made to Wint. IV, 4, 119, it may be 
well to call special attention to it as the 
ordinary reader frequently fails to per- 
ceive the exquisite beauty of the ex- 
pression : 

* * * daffodils, 
That come before the swallow dares, 

[and take 
The winds of March with beauty. 

That is : that fascinate or bewitch the 
winds of March. 
tales. The book, "A Hundred Mery 
Talys "was reprinted in 1866, from the 
only perfect copy known. After going 
over it attentively, I cannot describe 
it better than in the language of Dr. 
Furness: "It is a coarse book, the 
natural product of coarse times, and its 
flavor is not unlike the atmosphere of 
the houses which demanded daily and 
.prolonged fumigations. Well, indeed, 
may Beatrice have deeply resented the 
imputation that from it she drew her 
wit — and yet there is a tradition that 
this book, and others like it, were the 
solace of Queen Elizabeth's dying 
hours." Ado. II, 1, 135. 

tears. See crocodile. 

teem. See crocodile. 

temperance. Sanity. Lr. IV, 7, 24. 

throat. On the passage in 2HIV. I, 2, 
94, / had lied in my throat, if I had 
said so, Hunter makes this remark : 
" The lie in the throat was a lie uttered 
deliberately ; the lie in the teeth was 
one for which some excuse was al- 
lowed on the ground of its having 
proceeded from haste or some palliating 
cause." 

throughly. An early form of thoroughly. 
It is really the same word. Sh. uses 
both forms. Tp. Ill, 3, 14 ; Merch. IV, 
1, 173, etc., etc. 

throughfare. Same as thoi-o ugh fare. 
Merch. II, 7, 42 ; Cym. I, 2, 11. 

trunks. Upon Antonio's expression, 
empty trunks o'' erflourish'' d by the 
devil (Tw. Ill, 4, 404), Steevens has the 
following note : " In the time of Shake- 
speare, trunks, which are now deposited 
in lumber-rooms, or other obscure 



places, were part of the furniture of 
apartments in which company was re- 
ceived. I have seen more than one of 
these, as old as the time of our poet. 
They were richly ornamented on the 
tops and sides with scroll-work, em- 
blematical devices, etc., and were 
elevated on feet." 



UP AND DOWN. Exactly ; out and 
out. Gent. II, 3, 32 ; Tw. II, 1, 124. 
This was an idiomatic expression of 
the time, similar to our present phrase, 
downright. As found in Mids. Ill, 
2, 396; 2HIV. II, 1, 114, and several 
other passages it has the ordinary 
meaning. 

upshot. The result. A common expres- 
sion at this day. While in some passages 
it no doubt means the decisive shot (as 
the word is used in bowls and archery), 
yet in Tw. IV, 2, 76, it probably has 
the ordinary meaning. 

unpossessing. Incapable of inheriting; 
not lawful issue, and therefore, as 
Blackstone says : " nullius filius, and 
therefore of kin to nobody." Lr. II 
1, 79. 

usurp. To counterfeit ; to assume that 
which does not belong to one. Shr. 
Ind., I, 131; Tw. I, 5, 198; do. V, 1, 
257. An usurped beard = a false beard. 
0th. I, 3, 346. 



VEAL. Upon this word, as used in 
LLL. V, 2, 247, Vea.l, quoth the 
Dutchman, Malone says: "I sup- 
pose by veal, she means well, sounded 
as foreigners usually pronounce that 
word ; and introduced merely for the 
sake of the subsequent question. " Bos- 
well adds: The same joke occurs in 
The Wisdome of Doctor Dodypoll : 

Doctor : ' ' Hans, my very speciall friend ; 
fait and trot me be right glad for to see 
you ueaZe." 

Hans: "What, do you make a calfe of 
me, M. Doctor ? " 



WAL 



4:26 



WRO 



WALL. Icicles hang by the wall 
when they hang from the eaves 
of a building. LLL. V, 2, 923. 
well advised. This expression, as it 
occurs in LLL. V, 2, 434, is explained 
by Rolfe as "probably = in your right 
mind. c/. Err. II, 2, 215: 'mad or 
well advis'd.' See also RIII. I, 3, 318. 
The ordinary sense of ' acting with due 
deliberation,' which most editors give 
here, seems rather tame." 
whale. The expression in All's. IV, 8, 
249, who is a whale to virginity^ is 
thought by Douce to refer to the 
story of Andromeda, who, in obedi- 
ence to the oracle of Amnion, was 
chained to a rock so that she might 
be devoured by a sea monster. See 
Perseus. Douce tells us that in the 
old prints the monster was very fre- 
quently represented as a whale. But 
the allusion to "small fry" and the 
fact that the whale devours so many of 
them renders this explanation doubtful. 
The comparison in LLL. V, 2, 332, 
as white as a whalers hone, probably 
owed its origin to the fact that "the 
ivory of western Europe in the middle 
ages was the tooth of the walrus." 
Nares. The simile was a very common 
one, and is employed by Spenser, Lord 
Surrey and others. In Turberville's 
Poems (1567) we find : 
A little mouth with decent chin, 

A CO rail lip of hue 
With teeth as white as whale his bone 
Ech one in order due. 
window'd. 1. Placed in a window for 
exhibition. Ant. IV, 14, 72. 
2. Full of holes or windows. Lr. Ill, 4, 
31. The original sense of window is 
"wind-eye," i.e., eye or hole for the 
wind to enter at; an opening for air 
and light. Skeat. 
witch. The phrase, I forgive thee for a 
witch (Ant. I, 2, 40), is "from the 
common proverbial reproach to silly, 
ignorant females— ' you'll never be 
burnt for a witch. ' ' ' Steevens. 

When Sir Hugh Evans (Wiv. IV, 2, 
202) says of the disguised Falstaff , By 



yea or no, I think the ^oman is a witch 
indeed: I like not when a ''onian has a 
great pear d; I spy a. great pear d under 
his 7nuffler, he refers to a recognised 
characteristic of the witch. Thus, in 
The Honest Man''s Fortune, it is said : 
"The women that come to us for dis- 
guises must wear beards, and that's to ' 
say a token of a witch." 

wit=snapper. One who affects repartee. 
Johnson. "One hunting after wit." 
Schmidt. Merch. Ill, 5, 55. 

wooden O. This expression, as found in 
HV., Prol. 13, refers to the Globe 
theatre, so called because of its hexagonal 
or nearly round shape. See theatre 
and O, and also Globe in the Addenda. 

wooden thing. " An awkward business ; 
an undertaking not likely to succeed." 
Steevens. IHVI. V, 3, 89. 

word. Steevens tells us that when Hamlet 
says (Hml. 1, 5, 110), ^^ Now to my word: 
it is '■Adieu, adieu! remember me,' he 
evidently alludes to the watchword 
given every day in military service. 
The ghost had already, in line 91, given 
him these words. But it would rather 
seem that by "word" here Hamlet 
intends a . motto or maxim, as in RIII. 
V, 3, 349, our ancient word of courage, 
fair Saint George, Inspire %is. The 
term watchword is used in both senses, 
but I think Hamlet uses it here in the 
second sense and not in that given by 
Steevens. Dowden suggests that it 
means "word of command" as given 
by the ghost. 

world. The expression found in LLL. V, 
2, 799, To make a world-without-end 
bargain in, means an everlasting, 
never-ending bargain, alluding, no 
doubt, to the words of the marriage 
service "till death do you part." 

wroth. To our previous explanation of 
this word, as found in Merch. II, 9, 78, 
we may add : It is wroath in the PI. ; 
White thinks it is "used .somewhat in 
its radical sense, which connects it with 
the idea of suffering." Steevens tells 
us that " wroath is used in some of the 
old books for misfortiuie ; and is often 



YIE 



427 



GOO 



spelt like ruth, which at present signi- 
fies only pity or sorrow for the miseries 
of another.''^ 



YIELD. Referring to the explanation 
which I have given of this word, as 
it occurs in Lr. IV, 1, 12, the ob- 
jection has been made that it calls for an 
emendation — yeild for yield. But the 
accepted reading, yield, is quite as 
much an emendation as yeild. It is 
yeelde in the Fl. The usually accepted 
meaning of yield in this passage is 
that given by Schm. — "to submit," 
and the reading then would be "life 
would not submit to age," which cer- 
tainly is not a forcible expression. Now, 
when Sh. uses language he generally 
employs it to express some very clearly 



defined thought, and if we adopt the 
old word the meaning is clear and strong 
and to the point. Moberly 's explanation 
of this line (adopted by Rolf e) does not 
seem to me to quite meet the point. It 
is : " We so hate life that we gladly find 
ourselves lapsing into old age and ap- 
proaching death, which will deliver us 
from it. ' ' 

The verb to eild, meaning to grow 
old, is used by the old Scottish poet, 
Douglas, in his translation of " Virgil ": 

All thocht he eildit was, or step in age. 
In Vol. I of Jamieson's Diet. (4 Vols., 
4to., 1808) the definition of eild is "to 
wax old." The y is a common prefix 
to words of this kind and is often used 
by Sh. 

The word eld, signifying old age or 
old people, occurs in Wiv. IV, 4, 36. 



bed. Upon the line in Peste's closing 
song, But when I came unto my beds 
(Tw. V, 1, 410), Hallivvell has this note 
from Overbury's " New and Choice 
Characters " (1615) : " It is said among 
the folkes heere, that if a man die in 
his infancsy, hee hath onely broke his 
fast in this world. If in his youth, hee 
hath left us at dinner. That it is bedde 
time with a man at three score and 
tenne." 

dolphin. Under this word reference is 
made to All's. II, 3, 31, and I have 
adopted Malone's explanation that " dol- 
phin " here means the so-called "fish " 
of that name, in support of which he 
quotes Ant. V, 2, 89. Steevens, how- 
ever, thinks the reference is to the 
dauphin, the heir to the throne, a young 
man who would be likely to be healthy 
and lusty. The Clarkes, in their ed. of 
Sh., think there is a punning allusion 
to both, but in their "Shakespeare 
Key " they adopt the dauphin sense. 

Qood morrow. In the year 1883 Mrs. 
Henry Pott published a book entitled 



"The Promus of Formularies and 
Elegancies," by Francis Bacon. This 
was a sort of common-place book in 
which Bacon had jotted down various 
ideas and expressions, presumably for 
future use, and amongst others was a 
collection of about a dozen difi'erent 
forms of salutation such as "good 
morning," "bon jour," "bon soir," 
etc. Upon this Mrs. Pott based the 
amazing assertion that such forms of 
salutation as "good moi'ning" and 
"good evening" were not in use in 
England until introduced by Bacon. 
See Mrs. Pott's "Introductory Chap.," 
page 61. And in a work recently 
issued we are gravely told that " it is 
evident that Bacon was making an 
effort in 1594-96 to introduce salutations 
of this kind into English speech." And 
again: " ' Grood morrow,' which, it is 
believed, had been used but once before 
in England, as a salutation [! !], occurs 
one hundred and fifteen times in them," 
i.e., the plays. 
Mrs. Pott, however, in her book. 



H£B 



428 



SUN 



gives two instances, one from Gascoigne 
(1587) and one as early as 1548, in the 
"Interlude" of John Bon and Mast 
Person. The latter begins : 

Tlie Parson : " What, John Bon! Good 
Morrowe to thee." 

John Bon : " Nowe good morrowe, Mast 
Parson, so mut I thee." 

Both these cases she rejects, however, 
the latter on the ground that it does 
not appear to have been "used as a 
morning salutation " ! ! 

But in Stanihurst's description of 
Ireland, embodied in Holinshed's 
"Chronicle"' (1586), the writer tells us 
that the Irish had by that time borrowed 
this very phrase from the English and 
incorporated it in their own language. 
His words are : ' ' They vse also the con- 
tracted English phrase, God morrow, 
that is to sale, God giue you a good 
morning." 

And Sh. himself, in 2HVI. Ill, 1, 13, 
tells us that a morning salutation was 
common in his time and that the omis- 
sion of it gave great offence. The words 
are: 

* * * and be it in the morning 
When every one will give the time of 
day. 

One of the most dangerous assertions 
that a literary man can make is to say 
positively that a certain word or form 
of words was not in use prior to a cer- 
tain date. Ingleby, White and several 
others have tripped up on this. 

Herculean Roman. Antony traced his 
descent from Anton, a son of Hercules. 
Steevens. Ant. I, 3, 84. Hence his 
reference to his "ancestor," Alcides. 
Ant. IV, 12, 44. See Alcides. 

homager. A vassal. Ant. I, 1, 31. 

moment. Reason; motive. Ant. I, 2, 
147. 

pole. Probably a quarter-staff. LLL. 
V, 2, 700. The epithet ' ' northern man ' ' 
is said by some to refer to men of the 
North of England because they were 
skilful with the quarter - staff . But 
the quarter-staff was in use all over 



England. Strutt mentions the London 
apprentices and men of Devonshire. 
Farmer thinks the expression is equiva- 
lent to "clown," — Vir Borealis. See 
3rd Var., IV, 449. 

sacks. The expression, more sacks to 
the mill (LLL. IV, 3, 81), is said to refer 
to a boyish game. 

serpent. When Cleopatra, in Ant. I, 5, 
25, says: Or murmuring '■'■Where'^s 
my serpent of old Nile ? " she does not 
use the term "serpent" as indicative 
of cunning, wisdom, or coiling seduc- 
tiveness, but as referring to the emblem 
of Egyptian royalty which is frequently 
seen as part of the head-dress of kings 
and divinities in old sculptures. See 
aspic in Addenda. 

This is one of those delicate touches 
which show how thoroughly Sh: identi- 
fied himself with the feelings and habits 
of thought of each of his characters. 
When he puts a speech into the mouth 
of Cleopatra he becomes, for the time 
being, the Egyptian queen ; when he 
writes the philosophy of Hamlet, he 
becomes veritably Hamlet ; and when 
he displays the ignorant, but honest, 
jealousy of Othello or the cunning of 
lago, he, for the moment, transforms 
his whole being into an Othello or an 
lago. And this, it has always seemed 
to me, is in a large measure the secret 
of his tremendous power. 

shave. The expression, I would not 
shave''t to-day (Ant. II, 2, 8), means, I 
would not take even that trouble out 
of respect for him. See line 229 in same 
Scene, barber''d ten times o''er. 

skipping. Frivolous; light; unsteady. 
LLL. V, 2, 771 ; Merch. II, 2, 196. 

sun. The expression, get the sun of 
them (LLL. IV, 3, 369), is thus explained 
by Malone: "In the days of archery, 
it was of consequence to have the sun 
at the back of the bowmen, and in the 
face of the enemy. This circumstance 
was of great advantage to our Henry 
the Fifth at the battle of Agincourt. 
Our poet, however, I believe had also 
an equivoque in his thoughts." 



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